Even if it is primarily intended for large cities, the urbansphere concept is even more imposing than an Audi A8 in the long version! But this study was first thought for Chinese megacities, and it relies on its autonomous driving to solve parking problems.
After the skysphere and grandsphere, Audi completes its trilogy of concepts with the urbansphere. A name that initially suggested a city car or urban SUV body, even if the brand has already announced that the A1 Sportback and Q2 would have no descendants. Finally, this study displays dimensions similar to Chinese megacities, for which it was imagined: excessive.
It is indeed 19 cm longer than an A8 L, with its 5.51 m, while exceeding a Q7 by 4 cm in width and height. The objective was therefore clearly not to design a new champion of slots and narrow underground car parks, Smart Fortwo style. The urbansphere, the result of a collaboration between Audi’s design studios in Beijing and the German headquarters in Ingolstadt, is banking on its technology to make parking maneuvers a chore of the past.
Your journey, with or without steering wheel?
This concept, which should have been presented at the Beijing Motor Show if it had not been postponed due to Covid-19, is not content to take advantage of steered rear wheels to gain maneuverability. Above all, it offers level 4 autonomous driving, like the grandsphere and skysphere. Contrary to that of all current production cars, the system would thus be sufficiently efficient for the driver never needs to regain control on the majority of journeys. The steering wheel, pedals and dashboard can also be retracted when not in use, to free up space. Each of the four passengers will then be free to stretch their legs at will, in a luxurious cabin where varnished hornbeam wood and wool rub shoulders with synthetic textile fabrics. A way to adapt to Chinese metropolitan areas, where personal space is particularly scarce “.
A red carpet and space to spare
With its giant wheelbase of 3.40 m, this concept claims “ largest interior space of any Audi to date “. Especially since its silhouette is very reminiscent of that of a minivan with a small break between bonnet and windscreen, even if the brand prefers to describe it as “ large and prestigious sedan “. The seats can also swivel to be arranged face to face, so that passengers can chat more easily… or enjoy a movie thanks to the large transparent OLED screen that unfolds from the roof. Decidedly very inspired by the world of cinema, this urbansphere is even capable of projecting a red carpet on the ground before opening its antagonistic doors, to give you the impression of arriving at the Cannes Film Festival.
100% electric with 750 km range
To put on a show, this concept can also rely on the dynamic lighting of its “single frame” grille. A grid which adopts ever more imposing dimensions, while it has lost its initial function of cooling the mechanics. Like the grandsphere and skysphere, the urbansphere opts for 100% electric. Based on the new PPE platform developed with Porsche, which will be used in particular for the future A6 e-tron and the next Macan, the car announces a range of 750 km on the WLTP cycle thanks to a large 120 kWh battery.
A generous capacity that would not prevent going from 5 to 80% of energy in less than 25 minutes thanks to an 800 V technology accepting loads up to 270 kW. Ten minutes would even be sufficient to recover 300 km of range. The two electric motors delivering 401 hp and 690 Nm of torque in total confirm that this urbansphere is far from having a strictly urban vocation. But, like these two predecessors, it will in any case never be entitled to serial marketing. Only a few elements from its style, its interior and its technology will be found on future productions of the brand with the rings.
