In August, Audi unveiled its first member of the “sphere” family, named Skysphere concept, during Pebble Beach featuring a two-seat setting, an all-electric powertrain, and up to Level 4 autonomy. And now the automaker has introduced another sphere concept model called Audi Grandsphere. Unlike the Skysphere’s convertible layout, it boasts a four-door layout and will make its public debut next week at IAA Auto Show in Munich.
Audi says the Grandsphere promotes their intended EV future, offering a zero-emission powertrain, an upscale interior, and ready to offer Level 4 autonomy.
Design
The Audi Grandsphere concept has an extremely stretched-out design, which is 17.6 feet long (5.4 meters), 6.6 feet (2.0 meters) wide, with a wheelbase of 10.5 feet (3.2 meters). The extra-long design was created to distinguish it and made it “top value” in Audi’s range.
While the front looks identical to the present model range from Audi thanks to the signature Singleframe Audi grille, other things are unique. We are talking about very slim headlights, a shorter hood and front overhang, and the carved side profile that combines with the distinct fastback-shaped rear.
The interior is totally different from other Audi offerings starting from the reverse-opening doors, ultra-fashionable cabin with driver-selected ambient lighting, automatically adjustable driver and passenger seats according to the preprogrammed mode, and so on.
Making the cabin upscale are top-quality materials like wood, wool, aluminium, and glass. There are no conventional screens but a big dash-width screen for all settings. With the Level 4 autonomy activated, the steering wheel and pedals will pull back into the body, permitting the driver and the passenger at the front to benefit from the centre console-mounted cooler containing holders for two glasses and a customized bottle.
Powertrain and Battery
The Audi Grandsphere concept rides on the Volkswagen Group’s Premium Platform Electric (or PPE), which will underpin the A6 E-Tron, Q6, and Porsche Macan EV. The design enables the concept to carry a 120 kilowatt-hours battery and two electric motors – one at each. With this powertrain, the sedan can create 710 horsepower (530 kilowatts) and 708 pound-feet (960-newton meters) of torque. Audi says it is capable of hitting 100 km/h (62 mph) in only over four seconds.
Audi expects the sedan concept to cover up to 466 miles (750 kilometres) between charges – probably on the WLTP cycle. The charging time to add 186 miles (300 km) will be only 10 minutes at a 270 kilowatts charger. Replenishing the battery from 5% to 80% should be possible in only 25 minutes.
The Audi Grandsphere concept will employ rear-wheel steering and an adaptive air suspension allowing the vehicle to alter the suspension settings within milliseconds. Furthermore, a front-facing camera aids in altering the adaptive suspension in advance as per the road conditions ahead.
Whether the Audi Grandsphere will make it to production or not is still a mystery. However, both the sphere concepts preview Audi’s future design language.
Source and Images: Motor1