With the internal combustion engine living on borrowed time and fully autonomous cars on the horizon, we’re starting to see more and more futuristic concept cars that focus more on what cars of the future will be like than what we can expect to see in the next five or six years. Audi has really jumped on that wagon, and at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, it debuted the Audi Aicon – a vehicle that looks to the days of self-driving electric mobility with absolutely no compromises. As a 2+2 sedan, the Aicon has an attractive silhouette and a roomy interior. Comfort is of the utmost importance, and you’ll find that the interior is void of the usual necessities like a steering wheel or pedals and buttons. As an all-electric vehicle, it boasts four electric motors and a battery pack that should be good for nearly 500 miles of non-stop driving. And, not that it matters in a car that you can’t drive, but system output is rated at nearly 350 horsepower and more than 400 pound-feet of torque. Not bad.

With this in mind, and as attractive as this concept is, we’re still a long way out from Level 5 autonomy. The world just isn’t ready for a car of this nature quite yet (look at all the idiots that abused the functionality of Tesla’s AutoPilot in the early years) so don’t expect to see this thing shift into production anytime soon. It may someday, but I wouldn’t expect to see it before 2025 or 2030 at that earliest. Be that as it may, this concept is a very cool design study and a look at the future of the automotive industry, so let’s take a good look at it and see what all we can expect in our not-so-distant future.

Continue reading to learn more about the Audi Aicon.

2017 Audi Aicon

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2017 Audi Aicon
  • Horsepower: 348
  • Torque: 405
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array
Pros
Cons

Official video

Exterior

Now, some of the futuristic concepts that we’ve seen in the past have been ugly or just outright ridiculous as far as exterior design, but the Audi Aicon is a completely different story. See, this concept – while futuristic in nature – features an attractive exterior that is void of the fake vents and grilles or unnecessary nonsense commonly associated with concepts these days. There isn’t even a bunch of obnoxious exterior accent lighting or scrolling message boards – props to Audi for that.

What you do get, however, is a very sleek structure that is as much glass as it is carbon and metal, making for an open-feeling cabin. The nose of the car is just as short as the rear, another feature that makes for such a large passenger area inside. Up front, a black insert surrounds the Audi logo, which represents what the “Audi grille” will look like when a grille is no longer really needed. The addition of the front lip and the way the front fenders curve around up front is more aesthetic than anything and gives the front end some character.

Walk around to the side and take a few steps back, you’ll immediately realize just how long the concept is and how low-slung the roof is, as well. With the long and heavily angled windshield transitioning into that glass roof and ultimately the glass of the rear hatch, it becomes painfully clear that this is far from the Audi driven by the rich douche bag down the road. No, this is a car designed more for comfort and versatility, offering of tons of room inside and plenty of opportunities to look outside while the car shuttles you to your destination. But, that doesn’t mean looks aren’t important, and that’s why this baby rocks out those sculpted and muscular rear haunches. The Aicon didn’t skip leg day either, which is clearly evident by those massive wheels and the muscular front fenders.

Since this is designed as a fully autonomous car, there is no need for side view mirrors, so those are gone while the doors will be opened upon proximity and voice command automatically, so there’s no need for door handles either. The side glass is just as sleek as the rest of the body, and the sharp angles in the lower corners meet up perfectly with the upper body lines. Down below the doors have a concave presence to them that’s accented by the gentle curves of the doors and the way the side skirts bow in the center. I don’t know why, but this is very attractive.

Around back, the Aicon turns away from its luxurious sedan presents and goes full sports car in a very quick fashion. The upper body curves around and extends upward to create an integrated and hovering rear spoiler. Down below that, the taillights are integrated into an insert similar to what surrounds the Audi emblem up front and allows for backlighting of the emblem, a nice touch. And, no car would be complete without an aggressive, rear-diffuser like element that despite the lack of exhaust outlets, makes us think this thing is going to eat whatever pulls up next to it for dinner.

On a side note, Audi should build a small sports coupe with this exact rear end and powerful twin-turbo V-8 under the hood. Now that would be a looker, don’t you think?

Interior

If I had only one sentence to describe the interior of the Aicon, I would say that it’s probably nicer than your house. What you have on the inside are two very comfortable captain’s chairs and a small bench in the rear, allowing for a total of four passengers at one time. Most of the cabin is ride open thanks to the lack of any center console, button modules, or any of the other necessities that we find in today’s cars. If you’re wondering how everything is controlled, well, this is the future son – it’s all done by voice, touch, and gesture – just like you’ve seen in all of those science fiction movies.

Just think about this: You can get into your car after a 12-hour day at work (since our AI bosses will be slave drivers with no compassion for being tired) and say the words “Audi take me home.” From that point on, you can browse the internet, read the news, watch some porn – you know, whatever makes the ride home to that annoying wife and your kids that much easier.

Okay; jokes aside, it’s really not that bad in the future (we hope), so let’s get back to the topic. Ahead of the front passengers sits a huge, wraparound screen that displays all pertinent information about your journey, battery state, etc. On the door panels sits a positionable control interface that can be adjusted by nearly 20 inches allowing for just the right reach. You can control anything you need without even moving the rest of your body. Meanwhile, the onboard assistant (known as PIA) instinctively recommends certain services before you even select them. Thanks to eye tracking capabilities of the interior, you can look at a certain control element to select it then make whatever adjustments needed (like the radio station or internet browsing) via voice or hand gestures.

The all-glass roof can be adjusted to block out the sunlight or go completely clear for stargazing on the fly. You’ll be able to communicate with the wife at home and others on the road, essentially making the roads a social network of sorts. With that last statement in mind, it’s probably a good thing all cars will drive themselves or road rage situations could go through the roof – I know I wouldn’t hesitate to call someone an idiot to their face via a quick video chat if they cut me off. And, in case you’re wondering about the lack of seatbelts and airbags, well that’s because our future will be accident-free once humans are banned from controlling their own vehicles.

With that in mind, the future of transportation could be pretty cool as long as you’re not someone who enjoys the act of actually driving. Of course, you might give up spirited driving, red-light racing, and drifting, but you’ll trade that off for a lounge-like environment where you can kick back, relax, look at your phone without killing someone, and even have a few drinks or take a nap. Looks like the idea of booze- and doobie-cruising just might make a comeback.

Drivetrain

Just because you don’t have a steering wheel and pedals, it doesn’t mean you won’t have some decent power thrown to the ground. As such, the Audi Aicon features four electric motors – one for each wheel – that deliver a maximum system output of 260 kW and 550 NM. For those of you on this side of the drink or the two other countries that haven’t gone metric, that’s 348 horsepower and 405.7 pound-feet of torque.

Despite all that power, the autonomous future won’t allow you to go insanely fast, but a constant cruising speed of around 80 mph will be about standard in most areas and thanks to advances in technology and the sheer aerodynamic nature of cars like the Aicon, we’ll be able to see somewhere between 430 and 500 miles per charge. The 800-volt electrical system will allow for the battery to be charged to the tune of about 80 percent in a matter of a half hour, and can even happen while you nap since the car will know where to go and how to charge itself without any human input whatsoever.

So, what about suspension and brakes? Those are part of the future, right?

You bet they are. In fact, they are more advanced than ever in the future. The suspension system uses pneumatic spring and damper units that are effective at combating any road irregularities. Meanwhile, electric actuators housed near each wheel manage to counteract body lean in turns, acceleration, and braking to keep the interior completely level at all times – another reason why this bad boy doesn’t have cup holders. You can quite literally set your glass of scotch on the floor and not have to worry about messing up that pretty carpet ahead of the front seats or losing out on the last of your Johnnie Walker. Thank you, fully active suspension, am I right?

As far as the brakes go, well you’ve got to have good brakes, too, even if AI doesn’t make mistakes. But, this isn’t the typical brake system. Those brake rotors that you see behind your wheels today will still be in service (probably made from a more efficient material, of course) but they will actually sit much further in and away from the wheels. With the brake rotors positioned so close to the electric motors, it improves aerodynamics at the wheels and even provides for cooler design styles since the need to send air to the cool the wheel area is no longer needed. It also cuts back on unsprung mass for an even smoother ride. Since there are no steering hydraulics or a steering shaft, and everything between the front and rear is symmetrical, all-wheel steering is possible and standard. This allows for a turning radius of just 27.9 feet, which is far less than that of most compact cars. Pretty cool, huh?

Conclusion

I’m really not fond of giving up my ability to drive, so I normally criticize concepts like this to the moon and back. Not because they are dumb, but because they are normally TOO futuristic and they take away the fun that is driving for me. But, much like the world is starting to ban the ICE – or say they will by a certain date – they will eventually ban driving yourself as well. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing, either – I know 90 percent of you are probably reading this as you’re driving right now (the other 10 percent are probably pooping.)

By the time Level 5 autonomy is finally perfected and approved for on-road use, we’ll be able to put an end to the countless deaths that are the result of texting, drinking, and otherwise distracted driving. I give that an A in my grade book any day, even if it means I have to give up controlling my car myself. So, when cars like the Audi Aicon become a household item in the next 10 to 20 years, what are all of us gearheads and speed addicts going to do?

Well, we’re going to have the best excuse in the world to buy that trailer queen we always wanted and spend each and every weekend at the track. It doesn't matter what your poison is, you’ll still be able to get your fix, and it will be much safer than trying to ramrod the 405 like your name is Paul Walker, anyway. And, since the Aicon has more than 400 pound-feet, it should be more than capable of pulling your Mustang, Camaro, Supra, or BMW Z4 without a problem. And, the best part is, you’re not going to burn through fuel doing it either. Sure, your range won’t be as great, so there is that tradeoff, but just think about how much energy you’ll recuperate every time your Aicon comes to a stop hauling 8,000 pounds of trailer and car behind it. It may not be the dream we all had growing up, but it’s not all that bad when you look at it that way, is it?

What do all of you think? Will the Audi Aicon find a place in your heart when Audi throws it into production in the next decade or two? Or, will you go crazy not being able to drive yourself from place to place? What do you think of the way the Aicon looks? Feed us your thoughts in the comments section below.

References

Audi A8

Read our full review on the Audi A8.

Audi Elaine

Read more about the other concept Audi brought to Frankfurt.