Audi will present the skysphere concept to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance audience. An electric study offering two physiognomies: a long autonomous GT and a shorter roadster entirely focused on the pleasure of driving. Discovery.
Three years after the AI: RACE concept, also known as the PB18 e-tron (Pebble Beach 2018), Audi presents the skysphere. This style study, which will be exhibited on August 13 at the same Californian competition of elegance, is part of a group of three concepts planned by the German manufacturer with the grandphere and the urbansphere. These three models, belonging to the Artemis project, foreshadow the future Audi range which will be electric, connected and autonomous.
A concept developed thanks to digital technology
While the grandsphere, star of the next Munich Motor Show, announces a large limousine, the skysphere is positioned more on the pleasure of driving. ” VSis an autonomous two-seater roadster based on a long wheelbase “ announces Gaël Buzyn, director of the Audi design center in Los Angeles. It is indeed in this place called Audi Design Loft that the project was born and that it was developed entirely digitally. The elements were then sent to Germany for the realization of the concept to scale. “ This allowed us to optimize development time with the design teams based in Germany, with whom we were in constant contact ”, explains the French manager of the Californian site.
Audi is moving towards the very top of the range
The skysphere displays proportions very close to those of the cars we know today. “We wanted a classic silhouette for a top-of-the-range GT with a long front hood, large wheels and a significant distance between the foot of the windshield and the axle of the wheel. “, says Gaël Buzyn. If the future looks like this discoverable, it will clearly give you more desire than a formless and soulless autonomous car. And yet the skysphere does appear to be a level 4 autonomous vehicle. The steering wheel and the pedals are retractable, as in the Peugeot e-Legend concept.
The electric motor placed at the rear develops the trifle of 465 kW, or the equivalent of 632 hp. The torque is increased to 750 Nm, offering good acceleration: the 0 to 100 km / h would be folded in barely 4 seconds. The weight distribution (1,800 kg on the scale) is given at 60% on the rear axle. On the chassis side, the Audi skysphere has an adaptive air suspension and steering rear wheels to promote agility. Finally, the battery modules placed on the backs of the seats have a capacity of more than 80 kWh, thus offering more than 500 km of range on a single charge in the economy GT mode according to the brand.
The skysphere is not the future TT!
The skysphere also displays a similarity in size with another French concept, the Renault Morphoz. Like this one, the Audi stretches in length since the wheelbase is extended by 250 mm. “This was our biggest challenge: to keep the right proportions in the short, sporty version and in the stretched version, autonomous GT”, assures the designer. The study measures 4.94 m long in its short version and increases to 5.19 m for the long wheelbase. Our man also assumes to have been inspired by the PB18, of which he is at the origin of the design, for the rear part of this concept.
There is also a difference in size inside. When the car switches to long wheelbase mode, it becomes an autonomous GT and makes the driving controls disappear under the dashboard. Inspired by the Art Deco universe, the elegant furniture mixes the microfiber fabric and the blue-green hue of the seats the imitation leather and eucalyptus wood of the interior inserts. Large touch screens (141.5 cm wide, 18 cm high) can, depending on the mode, display driving information or content from the Internet such as streaming movies. The air conditioning is controlled on tactile panels placed on the doors.
As for knowing what will remain of the skysphere in the series, Gaël Buzyn affirms that ” many items will appear in production “, without being able of course to say more. Nevertheless, the skysphere does not advertise a vehicle as such and it does not in any way prefigure a possible TT.
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