Audi unveils an astonishing concept halfway between a sports SUV and a utility vehicle.
The Cybertruck should have some competition. Audi has just unveiled Activesphere, the fourth model in its series of concept cars that are supposed to define the future of the brand. This is undeniably the most amazing of the quartet since it promises to combine two styles that a priori everything opposes: Coupé and pickup. Just under 5 meters (4.98 m) long, 2.07 m wide and mounted on huge 22-inch wheels, the Activesphere has a unique style and a clear objective: to fly in the feathers of Tesla’s Cybertruck.
Double sided
How can you combine sporty aesthetics and utility design in one and the same vehicle? Thanks to a little magic trick signed Audi, which consists in transforming the traditional trunk of the coupé into an open loading space in its pick-up mode. The designers of Inglostadt have imagined a motorized system for opening the trunk which therefore makes it possible to transform the rear of the Activesphere into a loading platform. This technology bears the sweet name of Active Sportback. Its interest could not be simpler since it allows bulky loads to be carried, such as an electric bicycle for example.
Externally, the latest concept is really successful and manages to keep an aspect of crossover sporty, even in its open configuration. Above all, despite this luxurious appearance, Audi has managed to integrate enough elements ” off-road to underline the rugged appearance of the vehicle.
In addition, the Activesphere is said to feature the brand’s famous Quattro system as well as a customizable suspension system allowing the height of the car to be raised or lowered by 40 mm in either direction. In other words, on paths or in a crossing configuration, the car can rise slightly and, conversely, lower itself to improve its aerodynamics when taking a conventional road.
No steering wheel, no problem
It is once you have crossed the antagonistic doors of the Activesphere that the word concept takes on its full meaning. Indeed, for the passenger compartment, Audi has chosen to rely on simplicity and space on board, two concepts that are constants in the various “Sphere” projects. The wide dimensions of the vehicle make it possible to develop a very comfortable space inside. If a steering wheel is present for the active driving phases, it can disappear completely to give way to an augmented reality projection system in autonomous driving. Audi’s concept therefore ignores screens, like the BMW i Vision Dee.
No need to look for buttons on the dashboard either. Here, it is the evolution of the MMI system which takes over in its “Touchless” version. To increase the sound, raise or lower the windows, adjust the air conditioning, it will therefore be necessary to go through hand gestures or visual control. To facilitate dialogue between passengers and the car, the Activesphere also has four pairs of AR glasses.
Car of the future, platform of the present
Technically, the Activesphere is based on the VW group’s PPE platform, which served as a working basis for the Porsche Taycan and which will be used on the most high-end vehicles of the group’s brands. Its main advantage: it is based on an 800V architecture, which allows very high charging speeds (up to 270 kW). Concept obliges, the technical information is quite scattered, but Audi suggests all the same that its imposing concept would be equipped with a range of 600 km, thanks to a battery of a hundred kWh. As for the engine part, the German brand is content to announce some 325 kW of power and a torque of 720 Nm.
Four rings, four concepts. This is how the “Sphere” series should be interpreted at Audi. After Skysphere (in 2021), Grandsphere and Urbanshere (in 2022), Audi is completing its cycle of style studies to prefigure the next A8 and Q8. It will be particularly interesting to see what will remain of these concepts in the commercial versions of the future SUV and the next sedan, but even if this trunk idea seems quite brilliant, its arrival on a consumer model seems unlikely to us.
