Tag Archives: Audi

Audi Urbansphere EV concept is a spacious lounge on wheels loaded with high end tech

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Audi has revealed the Urbansphere concept which speeds into the future where EVs will be more of a premium lounge experience and not just mere vessels of transportation. A time when we’ll be spending more time relaxing in the four-wheeler rather than driving.

The trifecta concept from Audi’s Sphere series is here and by far it is the biggest when we talk of the length. While I’m restraining myself from labeling it a minivan, still it heavily weights on the side of one. We’ve already had our head over heels for the shape-shifting Skysphere roadster, this one is more from the conventional realm. In fact, this is by far the biggest car Audi has crafted with a total length of 217 inches, 79.1 inches width, and 70 inches of headroom.

Designer: Audi

Given its humongous size, there are only four bucket seats inside which take full advantage of the elegant lounge-like form with the swivel and reclining function giving the riders utmost freedom. Audi Urbansphere concept is our present-day glimpse of the electric mobility future with interiors more akin to a lounge space or a mobile office no one would be able to resist. On the outside, it takes the styling cues from the A4 e-Tron electric crossover.

The luxurious EV concept riding on 24-inch rims is tailored for a progressive mobility era where level 4 autonomous driving will be more than a common thing, and the digitally dominated cabin space takes a detour to a more communal and open design. It’s no surprise the Urbansphere has seatbacks capable of 60 degrees recline and an extendable footrest means the occupants ride in utmost luxury. Audi is planning to add a large format and transparent OLED screen which pivots vertically down from the glass roof to divide the two seating rows just like a taxi divider.

Urbansphere will get an anxiety detection tech to scan the face and voice analyzer to determine any signs of anxiety. If the metrics are not right, it will offer personalized suggestions for stress relief. There will be calming wood accents inside the cabin and display panels on the central infotainment screen. The tech infusion doesn’t stop there – the car will be loaded with a pseudo assistant to make restaurant reservations, order groceries, or ferry the riders to the destination and find parking on its own.

The vehicle will get the 800V architecture with 270 kW max DC charging speed., So, the Urbansphere will be capable of charging the 120 KwH battery pack from 5 to 80 percent in just 25 minutes. That’s equivalent to a 466-mile range capacity. In just 20 minutes the battery can be topped for a 186 miles stint.

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Audi AI-Climber with a flying rig for pitching tent on steep cliffs is bliss for rock climbers

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Rock climbing as a sport challenges the limits of human endurance to the extreme, and enthusiasts have to ensure everything is in place to make the exploits in the outdoors. Having an exciting journey in the mountains while being ultra-safe is important for every rock climber, and who would have thought an off-roading vehicle could do more than just ferry you to the base camp.

The Audi AI-Climber is a concept targeted specifically for rock climbers who want to challenge themselves and break through the limits of exploration. Car design student Xiqiao Wang has conceptualized this rugged off-roading set of wheels for outdoor rock climbing lovers by envisioning the vehicle for three different modes.

Designer: Xiqiao Wang

The first one is the obvious ‘Driving Mode’ to ensure incredible off-roading experience on any kind of terrain, the second one is the ‘Protector Mode’ to full-proof the safety of climbers in the Rockies, and the third one is ‘Resting Mode’ for comfortable sleep during the night time in the safety of the four-wheeler or even being suspended from the rock wall.

In the Protector Mode, the car turns into an intelligent belayer for solo adventurers who don’t have the liberty of a human belayer. There’s an elastic fall buffer wherein the climber can pull the rope in case of emergencies – as the climber falls down slowly to avoid any injuries. Also, there are two kinds of climbing protection options – the Lead climbing protection, wherein the rope is connected at multiple protection points, and the Top climbing protection, where the rope goes around the anchor. The vehicle itself is loaded with the mechanism to provide single rope, twin rope, or half rope, depending on the climber’s needs.

The most interesting bit of the geometric Audi AI-Climber is the Resting Mode, in which the rear part loaded with a hanging tent detaches and is capable of taking flight solo. The whole rig flies to the anchor point on a steep cliff and anchors to the rock. Thereafter the tent deploys automatically, and the daring rock climber can enjoy the perfect night from the perfect vantage point. For the less daring climbers, the rig can be pitched on solid ground too.

Other highlighting bits of the niche off-road vehicle are its terrain-adaptable tires with retractable treads, which can be employed in case more traction is needed. The interiors are designed for two travelers to comfortably sit back and enjoy the ride to the ultimate destination before the daring rock-climbing feat is undertaken!

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Holoride-Audi partnership delivers XR to some Audi series vehicles

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AUDI Holoride In-car Experience

Holoride aims to add thrill to every ride, but not many people will appreciate the idea of turning a vehicle into a moving theme park. It’s the selling point of Holoride, but we recognize the fact many people won’t like it because they quickly get dizzy.

Holoride offers a fun and connected experience to every ride, at least, to the more adventurous people. If you’ve tried holoride and are contemplating getting a new car, you may consider Audi. The Holoride team just announced its integration with Audi series vehicles starting this June.

Designer: Holoride

AUDI Holoride Experience

Audi is the first car company to bring holoride-ready experiences. Audi will be taking advantage of its MIB 3 infotainment system and making holoride a native feature. In addition, the automotive company has partnered with Holoride to offer consumers a unique travel experience XR content in real-time. The Audi-Holoride experience is possible with a motion-synchronized car and location-aware data. XR content is shown in real-time, delivering information or entertainment that will benefit the passenger.

Sample AUDI Holoride Experience

In-car entertainment inside your Audi is taken to the next level with Holoride. It can be educational for the children and recreational for the adults with the gaming content. There is also well-being-related content so you can be happy, healthy, and comfortable all the time.

Passenger experience is usually forgotten once a vehicle’s design has been finalized, but with holoride integration, it can be enhanced once again. Audi will start introducing this feature to several models like the Audi A4/A5/A6/A7/A8, Q5/Q7/Q8, Audi etron/etron Sportback, and Audi etron GT. In your Audi car starting June, you will find the holoride within the modular infotainment toolkit (MIB 3). Make sure you have a VR headset ready with you. It will connect wirelessly to your vehicle via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard. You can look at the HTC VIVE Flow since it’s the first holoride-ready headset.

AUDI Holoride Experiences Game

Audi and the Holoride team also worked with groups like Schell Games, ARVORE Immersive Games, TRIPP, PRELOADED, Magnopus, and MEDIASQUAD to develop more content. Future House Studios, SpiceVR, FreshFX, and VRWERX will also release holoride experiences in the near future. The in-car experience will be available in Europe and the United States in fall 2022.

The UK and Germany will get it first followed by more countries in the region by next year. The same holoride for Audi will be ready in China, South Korea, and Japan. Audi getting the holoride integration isn’t exactly a surprise since the startup’s co-founders were previous employees.

AUDI Holoride Experiences Game

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AUDI RS Q3 Sportback Review

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Do you see red? I certainly do. And it’s all over this rather extroverted but nice-to-drive Audi RS Q3 Sportback. Depending on your sensitivities, the generous servings of red body paint, bright red brake calipers, red engine cover, soft red alcantara patches on the dashboard, seats and doors, and red stitching on the seats, gear shifter and steering wheel, as well as the red stripe on the seatbelts can be interpreted as either luxurious or a touch gaudy.

To be honest, I feel designers have pushed the envelope of what’s possible in terms of colored highlights on and in this car. Bluntly speaking, the amount of red is almost overwhelming. Choose blue body paint, and the car can be matched with blue alcantara and stitching in the cabin, while several other color variations are also available. Your engine cover and brake calipers will still be red though.

But it’s not only the full-on color assault that titillates the senses. To cater to the huge, ever-growing market for sporty performance SUVs, Audi created a two-pronged RS Q3 range — the standard RS Q3, and then added the racier, sleeker-looking RS Q3 Sportback to the lineup. In trying to find the right body shape for the Sportback, Audi experimented with a couple of silhouettes before arriving at this body profile. And yes, it certainly does look sportier than the stock RS Q3. Strangely, however, I can’t help but feel a little sympathy for this model, which doesn’t quite seem to know what it is.

A minor identity crisis?

First, Audi designers took an RS3 hot hatch, elevated its height to insert the car into the highly popular SUV genre, and then they thought, wait a minute, it doesn’t look sporty enough. So to justify the sportiness in its ‘sportback’ naming, stylists squashed the roof down to give it a sharp sloping coupe-like rear window. The result? In taking styling inspiration from the Lamborghini Urus, the RS Q3 SB appears to be suffering from a slight identity crisis. To get over this part-SUV, part-hot hatch, part-coupe styling dilemma, the RS Q3 might even have to reluctantly go see a therapist to confirm its real identity!

Jokes aside, the RS Q3s are an integral part of the Audi Sport lineup — the firm’s motorsport and customizing arm responsible for RS models such as the RS3, RS6, and R8 in addition to Audi’s Formula E, DTM, and GT3 racing programs — which plans to double the sales of its road cars by 2023. The RS Q3 just happens to be one of the fastest small SUVs you can buy thanks to its 400-hp engine and 174-mph top speed. Its rivals include the BMW X2 M35i, Porsche Macan Turbo, and the Mercedes-AMG GLB35 but the demand for such cars means that competition for the RS Q3 will only intensify over the next few years.

Yes, the Sportback does come across as a mini Urus. And it can’t help that fact given Lamborghini is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary with Audi. The SUV boasts a no-nonsense sporty exterior with lots of sharp edges, aggressive bulges and surfaces, and large 21-inch wheels. Updated from the outgoing model, the new RS Q3 Sportback gets a slightly larger octagonal grille with a sportier piano black mesh design and a bolder four-ring Audi logo. Speaking of that mesh design, styling students may have noticed the three different styles of grille Audi has employed here. First impressions suggest that up to four different designers had a say in what happened at the front end of this car. Check it out.

As if penned by a confident, extroverted designer, firstly you have the bold open honeycomb mesh design inside the main grille. Then, look closely and you will see a significantly smaller, much more subtle grille design inside the Audi logo that appears to have been drawn by an introverted individual who isn’t quite sure of their talent. It’s almost a case of “Hey, mom I shrunk the grille.” Then, glance at either side of the main grille, and you will see a downsized version of the main mesh grille design that graces the larger brake ducts, which have grown in height and width to deliver more air to cool the brakes. And finally, you have the long narrow pseudo grille located between the hood and main grille that is actually a fake grille and is just there for show.

At the back, the sloping roof and heavily slanted rear window give the RS Q3 SB its signature sports SUV look. Below the rear bumper, you’ll find a fake diffuser that’s merely there for design nuance, while the twin sports exhaust pipes generate an acceptably sporty soundtrack. However, if you really want an exhaust to enhance the sound of that 5-cylinder engine and make the neighbors pay even more attention, then spend the extra $1,500 and upgrade to a high-performance sports exhaust system.

Inside, its kind of like Gucci meets Versace

As mentioned briefly above, the interior is a shock for the senses with its bright red alcantara highlights on the doors, seats, and dashboard. That combined with soft leather, aluminum accents, and carbon fiber-like surfaces give the car a luxurious ambiance, if not a touch eccentric. It’s kind of like Gucci met Versace and they had a baby. If you’ve ever been into one of their high-end stores, you’ll know what I mean. Whereas some Audi sports models use swathes of subtle dark grey or black Nappa leather in the cabin, there is very little subtlety in this red RS Q3 SB. If you don’t like red, downgrade your interior decorating before you buy the car because those sizable red patches will be present and in your face every time you board the car.

Interestingly, the only indication of the Sportback’s lower roofline is the more compact rear windscreen. If you’re looking for maximum headroom in the back—enough for six feet plus passengers then we’d recommend the standard RS Q3 which gets nearly two extra inches of headroom. But if you are smitten with a sportier, more stylish profile, then the Sportback is for you. Either way, the car has the same tech-heavy interior as the regular RS Q3, with an easy-to-operate 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment display and a 12.2-inch digital cockpit instrument cluster.

Drivers should like the thick, flat-bottomed, leather-bound steering wheel that feels good to grip when cornering hard and feel suitable supported seated in the bespoke RS-specced sports seats with honeycomb stitching. What they may be disappointed with though are the paddle shifters that appear to be made out of aluminum back are actually covered on the back with cheap plastic. Come on Audi, it won’t break the bank to give this hot SUV some shiny solid aluminum paddles. Surely.

In the back, you’ll find the same issue normally associated with Audi’s rear seats in their small to medium-sized SUVs and hatches—the upright seat position. While the rear seats do offer some sliding and reclining functions, the seatback does not recline enough, meaning that rear headroom is restrictive for taller passengers while the upright nature of the seat can cause fatigue over long distances. The rear luggage space however is competitive, offering 530 liters of capacity, which incidentally mirrors the figure for the standard RS Q3.

Gutsy 2.5-liter 5-cylinder turbo packs a punch

Even though the sporty red exterior, outgoing red and black interior, and tech-laden infotainment system might temporarily distract a new Audi driver, the RS Q3 SB’s main selling point is undoubtedly its engine. Powered by a turbocharged 2.5-liter, 5-cylinder unit that pumps out 400-hp and 354 lb-ft of torque, it’s mated to a quick-changing 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. This SUV will sprint from zero to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds, and if you speak to Audi nicely they will derestrict your car from its 155-mph speed governor to the maximum 174-mph spec. While the standard exhaust note delivers an acceptable turbo sound, you can also pay an extra $1500 to get a sports exhaust to give the 2.5-liter a throatier burble.

On the road, this turbo engine is as pleasingly potent as you’d expect of any model wearing an RS badge, with the five-cylinder engine responding at lower revs and effortlessly rising to a 7000 rpm redline. Keep the engine spinning above 3500 rpm and you will have instant turbo response with even the slightest extension of your right boot. Let those revs fall below 3500 however and you will notice some slight turbo lag. Thanks to the strong mid to upper ranges, even small gaps in traffic will offer passing potential, while the off-the-line acceleration is fierce thanks to the superb traction of the all-wheel-drive system. The exhaust sounds the part as well, and while the need to comply with new emissions rules has all but done away with the signature pops and bangs that characterized this powerplant, the distinctive roar is still more emotional than a four-cylinder.

On the whole, the 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox in automatic mode shifts quickly when called upon but can also sometimes show sluggish tendencies at low revs. It works smoothly at inner-city speeds, but ask for more and it can take a little longer than expected to drop a gear and quicken the pace. Engage sport mode however and things get snappier in the throttle department, although to get the most out of your 400-hp engine, it’s best to take charge yourself using the wheel-mounted paddles for the sharpest response.

The Driving Experience

The Sportback delivers the kind of sporty handling we associate with the RS range, letting you make rapid point-to-point progress while remaining predictable at all times, albeit with a little understeer when pushed hard. Make no mistake though—this SUV can get round a twisty road very quickly and efficiently and you will have loads of fun doing it. The progressive steering rack, while entertaining, can be prompted to give a little more sense of what the front tires are doing in the corners if you switch to the ‘dynamic’ settings on the drive select mode.

The RS Q3 gets upgraded sport suspension over the standard Q3, stiffer springs and dampers, and a ride height that’s nearly 4 inches lower than the standard car for a lower center of gravity and improved cornering. Given its sporty theme, the RS Q3 does deliver a slightly harsher ride at low speeds, so we’d recommend cruising in ‘comfort’ mode for the best inner-city results.

The ‘Audi drive select’ system gives you two new configurable settings, namely ‘RS1’ and ‘RS2.’ You can set them up to your liking by adjusting the drive system for quicker shifts, the steering for more responsive cornering, the engine sound and the ‘Quattro’ 4WD setup between ‘comfortable ‘normal’ and ‘dynamic.’ And to make things even easier for drivers to locate those modes in the heat of sporty driving, designers have fitted a special ‘RS mode’ button on the steering wheel that merely requires one quick tap to engage the mode you need. Brakes are substantial too, as you’d expect. The 375 mm drilled rotors on the front and 6-piston calipers pull the car up quickly and safely. But if you feel you want even more stopping power, you can upgrade your brakes to carbon ceramic but that will set you back over $5,000.

Price and Options

While the RS Q3 Sportback may not be available in the U.S. at the moment, it is for sale in many global markets for prices ranging from £52,000 in the U.K. to $92,900 in Australia to 8.9 million yen in Japan. Depending on the market, you can spend an estimated £1,000 for the upgraded suspension, another £1,000 to get the upgraded sports exhaust system, and around £5,000 extra for the carbon-ceramic brake package.

When put back to back with rivals like the BMW X2 M35i, Porsche Macan Turbo, and the Mercedes-AMG GLB35, the RS Q3 SB holds its own in the performance and handling departments. In fact, it excels! But in terms of comfort, especially in the back, the seat design does let the Audi down, and headroom is limited when compared to competitors.

Should I buy one?

The RS Q3 Sportback certainly looks cool and is loads of fun to drive with its gutsy 400-hp engine and sports suspension. It’s just that we didn’t find it as much fun on the road as a normal hot hatch, nor did we find it as practical as a standard performance SUV with a higher roof, indeed like its RS Q3 brother. If you prioritize styling, performance, and handling over practicality, then this Sportback might be for you. Otherwise, we’d lean towards the standard RS Q3 or perhaps even the Porsche Macan Turbo for the best combination of practicality, performance, and handling, not to mention the all-important street cred factor. As for those flamboyant red accents, well you can turn the level up to 11, as you see with this car, or you can dial it down to a less flashy 3 boasting subtle red stitching combined with black and carbon fiber accents. I think I’d opt for the latter.

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2022 Audi RS e-tron GT Review

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World’s Prettiest EV Packs A Punch!

Every year in the course of my work reviewing over 100 new cars, I come across one that truly astonishes. This car’s exterior curves don’t just take your breath away, but its performance and handling are the instigators of multiple goosebump attacks.

The fully electric Audi RS e-tron GT (hereinafter ‘RS’) four-door coupe is such a car. Employing the Porsche Taycan’s industry-leading running gear and powertrain, as well as Audi’s legendary 4WD Quattro system, the RS packs a whopping 590-hp and a zero to 60 mph sprint time of under 3 seconds. For drivers, and art lovers, the RS is the highlight of the year.

Image Credits: Audi Japan

To Marc Lichte, Head of Design Audi, the e-tron GT Concept was the most beautiful car he had ever designed. We are just lucky that this 2018 concept made it to production. Virtually untouched aesthetically, the RS e-tron GT and e-tron GT are simply stunning machines. In fact, I believe the RS I drove last month is the prettiest EV on the planet, bar none.

When speaking of their penmanship, rarely do designers reveal such honesty with the vast majority wanting to spread the styling glory across several different cars in their whole lineup. But when you create the Statue of David of the electric car world, why try to dilute your passion and pride in your sculpting? So hats off to Lichte for admitting the obvious.

Following in the footsteps of the e-tron SUV and e-tron Sportback, the RS arrives into Audi’s battery electric vehicle (BEV) lineup above its lower powered e-tron GT brother that dons the same exquisite exterior and employs the same Taycan platform.

Image Credits: Audi Japan

Secrets of the Audi’s good looks

So what makes this e-tron GT range so pretty? Those sumptuous proportions. Short front and rear overhangs, a long wheelbase, subtle curves, and gentle edges, a perfectly contoured roofline that rakes back from the A-pillar to create a muscular coupe-like silhouette all merge to create automotive pornography. At 16.3-ft in length, 6.4-ft in width and 4.5-ft in height, this Audi is flat, wide and low, highlighting the car’s low center of gravity and excellent handling capabilities. I particularly like the hollowed out hood accented by the sharp LED headlights, the solid front honeycomb-design grille, the drag-reducing 21-inch alloy wheel design, the full body width tail light design and those huge 6-piston brake calipers and rotors.

As Lichte points out, the design of the RS is an ideal combination of form meets function. The e-tron GT’s exterior had to be visually appealing but it also had to incorporate the two most crucial aspects of an efficiently-styled EV: reduce aerodynamic drag and increase range. “The design of this car guarantees the optimization of airflow [over and under the body] and therefore excellent aerodynamics,” says Lichte. The lightweight carbon-fiber roof also helps to reduce upper body weight while improving the car’s center of gravity. In fact, the e-tron GT lays the foundation for the future aesthetics of Audi electric models. No surprise there.

Inside the cockpit, the RS is just as lovely as it is on the outside. The layout of the dashboard is classy and high quality but not in-your-face with huge upright tablet-like touchscreens like in the Tesla Model S and Ford Mustang Mach-E.

My compliments go to the stylists who penned the Audi’s interior that boasts a luxurious mixture of leather, carbon-fiber, aluminum and alcantara. Ambience is top-notch throughout and the whole cabin feels well made. If fact, Audi should be complimented for combination of understated luxury and relative simplicity employed is the cockpit styling. Unlike the Model S, Taycan or Mach-E, which require an in-depth lesson in new-fangled touchscreen infotainment systems, the RS e-tron GT is intuitive with a good mix of digital and analog switches.

Multiple power adjustments on the driver’s seat and flexible steering wheel tilt and telescopic functions mean that any driver can quickly find their ideal driving position. And those bespoke bucket seats with RS badging, exquisite red honeycomb pattern stitching and plenty of lumbar support help to elevate the driver experience even further.

Unlike those other EVs though, the RS offers a modern virtual cockpit with a full digital readout and a good mix of physical switches and touch controls that are just more intuitive to operate easily while driving than touchscreen controls. The Bang & Olufsen sound system is the right choice and the MMI infotainment menu and graphics are excellent.

Exquisite Interior Handicapped By Rear Seat Compromises

In the back seat, you get a surprising amount of legroom thanks to the long wheelbase, and a bespoke sculptured out floor called a ‘foot garage’ (what will those marketing boys come up with next?) gives you plenty of space to put your feet. However, in focusing so heavily on aesthetics and aerodynamics, the e-tron GT suffers from three shortcomings in the rear seat. Apart from limited headroom for anyone over 6-ft, the high belt line and low slanting roof mean that the already tiny back door window cannot be fully lowered and visibility through the rearview mirror is not ideal. A digitized mirror would solve the trick.

Also, the sizable C-pillar can make the rear seat seem a little claustrophobic at times. And I’d really like Audi to focus on their rear seat comfort and give the seat back a few more degrees of recline. Those rear seats are too upright and can lead to back ache on long journeys. You might lose a little trunk space, but by fitting a semi-reclining rear seat, you would improve back seat comfort significantly. Speaking of trunk space, the aerodynamically design-focused e-tron GT offers 405 liters which is the same as a Taycan. But it loses out substantially to the Tesla Model S which delivers 744 liters. Flatten the rear seats however using manually operated levers from the rear doors and you can generate some usable luggage space.

It goes without saying that the space-challenged middle rear seat is really only tailored for ankle-biters given its lack of headroom. Lower the rear seat armrest however, and you create a through section to the trunk that allows you to carry skis or other long instruments with ease.

The Driving Experience

Both the entry-level e-tron GT and the flagship RS e-tron GT that I drove sit on the Taycan’s platform made from a mixture of steel and aluminum for maximum strength and weight-saving. Both have a motor at either end comprising its four-wheel drive system, and both have the same two-speed gearbox as the Taycan on the rear axle to maximise acceleration off the line. The RS features a 93-kilowatt-hour battery pack that offers range of 232-miles according to the EPA, although with frugal, efficiency-focused driving, you could reach 250-miles or more. Obviously that’s nowhere near the 348-mile range of the latest Tesla Model S Plaid, but carmakers keep telling us that few commuters travel more than 200 miles a day anyway, so the Audi’s EPA-rated 232-mile capacity is well within the ballpark of acceptability.

The RS e-tron GT generates 590-hp and 612 lb-ft of torque, or 637-hp on overboost for 2.5-seconds to deliver a 0-60 mph time of 2.9 seconds which is nearly half second slower than the Taycan Turbo S and almost one second behind the world’s fastest EV, the Model S Plaid at 2.1 secs.

With that said, the RS’s sub-3 second jump from zero to 60-mph still makes this Audi blindingly fast. For the record, the RS I tested was fitted with all the optional bells and whistles including four-wheel-steering, air suspension, carbon ceramic brakes and an electronically controlled rear differential. Engage launch control, left foot on the brake, right boot on the accelerator, lift your left foot, take a deep breath, and within around 5 seconds, this 5100-pound vehicle will have cleared the Delorean’s 88-mph terminal speed necessary to travel through time in Back To The Future. In fact, as I drove this car, I thought to myself—if a movie studio ever decided to film a remake of Back To The Future, they could do a lot worse than upgrading to the RS as their time machine. To me at least this thing looks, feels, sounds and handles the way a 21st Century time machine should.

Speaking of sound, the RS’s lack of engine or wind noise is a blessing in disguise as the electric powertrain’s silence only works to enhance the car’s tire noise, which there can be a lot of depending on the road surface. But then again, this heavy car that packs such a punch needs these huge grippy 21-inch Goodyear tires that naturally create noise and chirp and squeal intermittently when fighting for traction under intense acceleration.

In the same vein as the Taycan, Audi engineers tried hard to produce a sonic replacement for the glorious V8 or V10 throb associated with Audi’s R8 supercar and other high-end models. The ‘e-tron sport sound’ fitted to the RS employs two control units and amps in the car’s trunk that feed two speakers inside and two outside the vehicle. Depending on your speed it will send a sci-fi-like artificial tone into the cabin that is tolerable but not as noticeable as the one on the Porsche. A safety feature that is being pushed by governments around the world, turn the car on the you’ll notice a rather loud pulsating hum from the outside to warn pedestrians.

The RS’s front suspension compromises of aluminum double-wishbones, while the complex rear suspension is a multi-link set-up with three-chamber air springs and adaptive dampers fitted to all four corners. This combination gives the RS not only great poise when cornering but deliver a surprisingly compliant and comfortable level of ride quality at low speeds around town. Rear-wheel steering with Audi’s electromechanical power steering plus system extract pinpoint accuracy when diving into a sharp corner and loads of grip on the way out. The RS may be nearly as quick and offer similar range as the Taycan, but overall the ride is more compliant and mellow. And over long distances, that means a lot.

Being an Audi, the firm’s quattro four-wheel drive system forms part of the drivetrain set-up, with all four wheels permanently driven, unless efficiency mode is selected, when the e-tron GT becomes front wheel drive only. The steering is quick and precise and delivers reasonable feedback from the road. It is not however as communicative as the R8. Drivers may be confused by the presence of gearshift paddles behind the steering wheel. Audi says they allow you to adjust the level of regenerative braking, which on other cars can assist greatly in when driving in traffic. However, the three separate region modes, simply toggled through the paddles, are well, basically superfluous. The idea of such regen systems is to allow the car to decelerate when you remove your foot from the accelerator. But in the RS, these paddles are almost meaningless.

Pricing and options

If anyone ever wanted an excuse to switch from gasoline or diesel powered cars to electric, this is the car to do it in. It’s by far the prettiest, it’s nearly as quick as the Taycan but a little more mellow and subtle and has the range to offer a reasonable alternative to internal combustion. The only hurdle is the price. The RS e-tron GT’s base price starts at around $140,000 but can quickly shoot north as you opt for the $20,350 Year One Package that adds on rear-wheel steering, 21-inch Goodyear Eagle F1 tires, carbon-ceramic brakes and Audi’s LED laser headlights. Tack on $595 for a special paint job and you’re looking at a fully optioned sticker price of $161, 890.

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Audi Skeleton race car inspired by bobsleds is designed to appease your inner daredevil!

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While we talk of all the cool futuristic concept cars that focus on the ultimate driving comfort, hair-raising speed, and the overall vehicle dynamics – automotive designer David Gallego takes a hard detour into uncharted territory with this Audi Skeleton concept.

The automotive concept is something more than the usual passive driving on the streets or circuits. It is based on the lines of the Skeleton winter sliding sport wherein the rider maneuvers a small sled commonly known as skeleton bobsled on speedy frozen tracks. In part, it also has the reminiscences of karting and sidecar racing competitions. The head-first lying position is what this concept draws inspiration from in a four-wheeler iteration, of course, meant only for the true daredevil racers!

The designer combines his inspiration with the Bauhaus philosophy to give this niche Audi concept a definitive linear and geometric form. The aesthetics of the concept reveal the nature of objects – such as an inhaler, bicycle’s front frame section, and even a modern door handle. The result, an authoritative Audi four-wheeled race car that takes the rider for an unprecedented spin on the race tracks.

To support circuit racing, the car comes with a reinforced body shell made from carbon fiber to protect the driver from a head injury in case of a collision, much like the stellar monocoque shell of formula-1 cars that protect the driver from neck-breaking impacts. The driver sits precariously close to the front wheels and the electric-powered racing demon has batteries on the side pods – just ahead of the rear wheels.

The racing car character is evident in the aerodynamic design honed by a very wide stance overall. Since this is an Audi, the R18 like personality doesn’t come as a surprise. Most of all, I love the combination of the adrenaline-inducing skeleton bobsled design with an electric-powered race car, it is certainly unique. Would something like this actually be feasible as far as driver safety is concerned? That’s a hard call to make!

Designer: David Gallego

Audi Skysphere is set to redefine the automotive industry, courtesy of its expandable wheelbase!

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As an auto enthusiast who is completely awed by this feature, if the other automotive giants are as surprised as I am, I can honestly state that Audi has taken a giant leap in the technology that will take years for the others to catch up on. With this concept, Audi redefines the automotive industry while establishing itself as a true leader in this space.

Audi has just dropped a level 4 autonomous car concept that goes beyond the realms of what we are used to seeing – even by conceptual design standards. Audi propels into the future of autonomous driving with the Skysphere, an electric convertible that morphs from a luxurious grand tourer to a beastly sports car at the push of a button. This concept is designed by Gael Buzyn and his team to bring an unparalleled driving experience to the streets. The highlight of this concept is its transforming design, featuring an expandable wheelbase that transforms a two-seater convertible into a four-wheeler sportscar, giving you the best of both worlds.





The shape-shifting character of this car is akin to the caterpillar’s morphism to a butterfly. There are actuators behind the front axle that move the car’s front section back and forth to give it 10-inches of shape-shifting advantage. In addition, the steering wheel and pedal shifters retract under the dashboard panel for added luxury while being highlighted by the touchscreen interface panning across the dashboard in the long-wheelbase GT mode. This helps transform the car from a stable GT model to the power-oriented aggressive Sport mode.

1937 Horch Type 853 Sport Cabriolet

Skysphere draws much of its inspiration from the proportions of the legendary classic – 1937 Horch 853 convertible. Audi calls this mind-boggling creation a “reverence without retro.” The Skysphere is a nostalgic nod to the glorious grand touring era but with the infusion of a very modern element. According to Audi, the footprint between the legendary Horch 853 convertible and the Audi Skysphere cars is pretty similar – 5.23 meters in length versus 5.19 and a width of 1.85 versus 2.00 meters, respectively. The concept also gives a nod to the Art-Deco-inspiration with its metallic accents.

The battery pack of the Skysphere is located behind the cabin in a 40:60 front-to-rear weight distribution configuration. The front and rear double-wishbone suspensions help with the overall stability, and the steer-by-wire system comes with a variable-ratio setup for switching between the two modes. According to Audi, the convertible will be capable of going from 0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds – courtesy of the rear-mounted 624 horsepower (465 kilowatts) electric motor. In addition, it will have a practically achievable range of 310 mph thanks to the 80-kilowatt-hour battery positioned behind the seats.

I can’t help but draw a parallel between this flamboyant electric car with the transformers (Bumblebee might just become a reality) with all the transformations it is making, both on the exterior and interiors. There is no compromise between the two driving configurations – such is the design refinement of this unparalleled concept car by Audi. Is this going to be the foreseeable future of cars whizzing past you in a couple of decades? I bet it is!

Designer: Audi

 

 

This Audi Quattro racer with its grungy dystopian aesthetics is what the Mad Max sequel needs!

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Automotive lovers who are acquainted with Audi surely know about Quattro. The all-wheel-drive road vehicle burst into the scene in 1980, and ten million Quattro (derived from the word four-wheel-drive system) drive cars have hit the road. Based on this adventurous progression, Audi has built the electrified version of the powertrain for future mobility. This Quattro H 1993 concept designed by 3D specialist Federico Ciuffolini superimposes the vision of a dystopian future where Mad Max-like vehicles will fight for domination of resources on the planet. I can’t help but see the racing DNA of the R18 E-Tron Quattro being the inspiration for the design here.

The Quattro H 1993 concept car defines the evolution of racing culture in a world where the dynamics of lifestyle are completely radical from current times. Federico creates the blueprint with fiberglass, Kevlar, and carbon fiber construct for the ideal weight to power ratio. A powerful drivetrain and engine demand good airflow, so the use of naca and ram ducts is truly justified, hence eliminating the need to run the aero. The Quattro’s cell is made out of isolated monocoque for structural integrity and connects to the main chassis with a heavy-duty gasket.

Ballast is used to lower the cockpit barycenter to align the pilot (giving dampened solicitations) when lateral g-forces take effect at high-speed cornering. The result is a car with a very stiff and low-slung positioning on the road for maximum grip. A true racer at heart, the Quattro H 1993 amalgams the past and present racing DNA into a car of the future set in an uncertain world.

Designer: Federico Ciuffolini

This Audi NEXT TT 2021 concept goes back to its 1998 Mk1 roots with a ‘friendly’ curved design

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I’ll get to the TT-shaped headlights in a bit, but this fan-made Audi NEXT TT concept is just simply gorgeous! It harks back to its old, 1998 days when the car had a more friendly, curvaceous appearance, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that it has a slight Honda E vibe to it too!

Say hello to the Audi NEXT TT, a fan-made concept that helps the car come back to its more amiable, approachable Mk1 roots. That bit of nostalgia, however, doesn’t undercut the NEXT TT’s futuristic appeal. The car comes with an eye-catching Stormtrooper paint-job, sporting black elements on a white body. It showcases the use of rather clean, curved surfaces, instead of inundating the vehicle’s body with jagged lines, contours, and air-intakes. In fact, even the headlights and taillights sit flush against the car’s body. The headlights come fitted behind a black glass panel, shining through the tinted glass in the shape of the letters TT – a pretty clever detail on the part of the designer. While the TT-shaped lights indicate the car’s model, they’re punctuated by the Audi symbol that illuminates right in the center. Move to the rear and the taillights have a keen Audi touch too, resembling the edge-lit taillight design seen on the Mk2 TT and even on the R8.

Overall, the car impresses with its simplicity. The asterisk-shaped rims are pretty eye-catching from afar, and the car’s bubble-shaped cockpit comes with a seemingly panoramic bubble windscreen – although if you look closely, you’ll notice the black pillars camouflaging beautifully into the tinted black glass. While the car’s conceptual, its 2021 make and the lack of a radiator on the front and exhaust on the back hint at an electric powertrain. Although, with its friendly design, one wouldn’t be wrong in assuming that the car had some level of self-driving ability too. I won’t lie though… this may be a deviation from the character seen on most Audi cars, but I kind of like this approachable design language. I also have to give credit to the designer for those TT headlights. They’re a seriously clever design detail, and I hope Audi finds a way of actually integrating them into their future TT models!

Designer: doinnext_cong