As the race to full autonomy continues to heat up, Audi has been making moves. Between a variety of futuristic self-driving concepts and real-life demonstrations, the Four Ring brand has been busy in the push for robo car tech. Audi’s latest bid in this space is the Elaine concept vehicle, which recently debuted at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show promising a host of interesting features. As you might expect, the Elaine looks beyond the standard list of autonomous features present in the current crop of production luxury vehicles and imagines what’s possible in the future. As such, the Elaine promises not only uninterrupted self-driving capabilities, but also fully autonomous parking, AI-assisted navigation and comfort settings, self-directed car washing, and even driver health recommendations. What’s more, Audi says all these features could very well find their way onto its production vehicles in the years to come.

Inevitably, there will be many of you out there who feel a bit of anxiety over the prospect of a self-driving Audi. Fear not, because this thing still comes with a steering wheel and pedals, and the autonomous features will only kick in when you want them to – that is, during boring stuff like commuting and traffic jams. The rest of it looks like a helpful way to enjoy your ride, and Audi even contends that “drivers should be more relaxed when they get out of the car than when they got in.” Intrigued? Read on for the details.

Continue reading the learn more about the Audi Elaine Concept.

Hey, That “New” Concept Looks Awfully Familiar…

More eagle-eyed readers out there will recognize the Elaine as the e-tron Sportback concept that Audi brought to Shanghai earlier this year. Indeed, this update brings with it the same body, electric drive, and exterior lighting as the past concept vehicle, and underlines Audi’s intentions to put the coupe-like roofline and tall SUV dimensions into production once and for all. Look for it to make a splash as Audi’s second mass-produced electric vehicle.

So What About The Exterior Styling And Interior Appointment?

While curvaceous and sporty looking, the Elaine is all SUV, albeit with a coupe-like cut to the roofline. The dimensions are big, measured at 16.1 feet long, 6.5 feet wide, and 5 feet tall, with a wheelbase of 9.6 feet, all of which is quite similar to the Audi A7. Huge 23-inch wheels in a 6-spoke design sit in the corners.

Audi’s Matrix LED technology was added to the headlights and taillights, offering indicators for when the car is operating in autonomous mode. Animated lighting was also added to greet the driver when he or she exits or enters the vehicle.

Inside, the Elaine’s focus is on offering a simple, elegant layout, with a reduction to the number of switches and hard buttons overall. Instead, the Elaine uses a variety of touchscreens for user inputs, while copious horizontal lines and a floating center console look good. Seating capacity is capped at four passenger spots, with individual seats providing the comfort. There’s also an onboard Wi-Fi hotspot for communications and media integration, with features like video conferencing for work purposes.

So What About The All-Electric Power?

Audi is adamant that this thing previews an up-and-coming all-electric drive system, with one electric motor in front and two in the rear. That makes the Elaine essentially AWD, with as much as 320 kW (429 horsepower) of power on tap, up to a maximum of 370 kW (496 horsepower) in boost mode. That’s a pretty sizable chunk of go, and although the Elaine is a heavy luxury SUV, Audi predicts it’ll do the 0-to-62 mph tango in just 4.5 seconds. Battery capacity is rated at 95 kWh, with 500 km (311 miles) of range offered per charge if you stay off the long skinny pedal. Topping off the battery is both wired and inductive charging capabilities.

Autonomous Systems

While quick 0-to-62 mph times and 23-inch wheel designs are all well and good, the most interesting thing about the Elaine is the onboard self-driving tech. Offering both completely automated and driver assistance systems, Audi says the Elaine gets something called a zFAS controller mounted in the rear, which is equipped with a variety of AI functions that will supposedly see use in the automaker’s production vehicles over the course of the next few years.

Starting things off is standard stuff like Audi pre-sense safety features and predictive efficiency technology, plus an advanced self-driving program that will take over during boring highway driving, essentially acting as an extension of Audi’s traffic jam assist. The self-driving feature will activate between 37 mph and 80 mph, and can automatically change lanes, even overtaking slower traffic before merging back into the original lane. And yes, the driver can still take control if desired.

However, the really cool stuff is with something the brand is calling Audi AI Zones, wherein the car will connect with the surrounding infrastructure to do stuff like autonomously park. Basically, all you gotta do is pull up to curb and exit the vehicle, and the system will automatically find an empty spot on its own and park, then come back and retrieve you on demand. Alternatively, you can put the car to work by instructing it to go for a wash, pick up some packages, or gas up, all completely autonomously. Cool, right? Just download the app, put in the right settings, and watch it go.

This isn’t some out-there sci-fi prediction – Audi really is aiming to create designated AI Zones that allow it to do all these things autonomously.

Up next is the Audi Personal Intelligent Assistant, or PIA, wherein the onboard systems pool information from the car, the driver, traffic reports, and more, then adapts itself to meet the driver’s needs. That means custom playlists for the stereo, up-to-the-minute navigation corrections, customized climate control settings, personalized Audi connect services and more, all enabled by a specialized form of machine learning.

Finally, there’s the Audi Fit Driver system, which will monitor the pilot’s mood via bio-indicators like heart rate, body temperature, and the like, then adjust the various systems to reduce stress and improve general health, even guiding the driver through breathing techniques.

Conclusion

While there was certainly no shortage of electric autonomous vehicle concepts in Frankfurt this year, Audi’s take with the new Elaine design study stands out for a number of reasons. Not only are the ideas presented feasible on a large production scale, Audi is adamant that we will be seeing these systems (or at least some form of them) in dealers over the course of the next few years.

Whether or not Audi will be able to deliver on that promise remains to be seen, but either way, it’s an exciting thing to think about.

A car that can run errands on its own? Where do we sign?

References

Audi e-tron Sportback concept

Read our full review on the Audi e-tron Sportback concept