Its latest concept car - still just an idea and not a planned production model - is a luxury electric car that drives like an mud-plugging truck and lets you control it using an augmented reality headset.
The so-called Activesphere, the fourth concept car in the company's so-called Sphere series, is about 5 metres long and has the flowing roofline of a coupé. But at the push of a button, it rises to the ground clearance of an off-road vehicle.
Perhaps the most surprising element of this four-door four-seater is its convertible rear, which can be transformed from a closed luggage compartment into a cargo bed for two mountain bikes, for example.
With a retractable steering wheel, the study is also already designed for autonomous driving at Level 4, Audi says.
The technical basis is a new electric architecture "PPE" that Audi is developing together with Porsche. The first electric car to be launched on this platform will be the Q6 E-Tron in the second half of 2023.
According to Audi, each axle of the concept is equipped with a motor with a combined output of more than 294 kW/400hp and a battery with a capacity of around 100 kWh for a range of more than 600km.
Audi says the design model has no serious prospects for series production, but at least the car's high-tech concept for drivers could be put into practice in some future models.
Instead of haptic switches and more and more screens, the German manufacturer wants to work more with augmented reality headsets, a kind of wearable head-up display.
Their transparent lenses overlay the real world in front of you with 3D graphics that can replace switches and buttons as well as navigation maps or news lists.
