The 2019 Frankfurt Auto Show will be graced by this new electric off-road concept from Audi called the AI:Trail Quattro. The German automaker has not revealed a lot of details about it yet, but it does not look like merely an autonomous luxurious pod. It is an electric off-roader and even looks the part. The AI:Trail Quattro happens to be the fourth model in the series of design studies, and Audi will be debuting it on September 10, 2019. So, naturally, we are excited to see what it brings to the table.

Have You Seen A Car Without Bumpers Before?

The first thing you’ll notice is the set of huge wheels that are pushed to the extreme ends and seem to be wrapped in off-road tires. The car rides quite high off the ground and has sharply raked windshields. With the spoiler at the back, the car reminds you of the Range Rover Evoque. The window sill is also quite unconventional and will give a fair bit of peek of the inside once launched. Overall, it seems a little rounded when compared to the current crop of the brand’s cars.

It Could Use A Retractable Steering Wheel

Since it’s part of the AI study family, it will be autonomous. But, on the inside, we can see a steering wheel. This means the car will not be fully autonomous like the Aicon concept. It makes sense because the car is described as “an electrically driven off-roader.” What’s the point of an off-roader if you don’t get to drive it? It will also be an all-wheel-drive vehicle because, well, its name says Quattro. It will either be a four- or a five-seater with four doors and given the kind of space flexibility an electric car provides, there should be enough storage space as well. Given its proportions, it could be based on Volkswagen’s MEB electric platform.

Audi’s Other Electric Experimental Concepts

In May that year, an automated Audi A7 drove in the dense urban traffic of Shanghai in a highly complex environment. Back in 2017, Audi showcased its first set of AI-moniker’d cars at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The concepts showed how advances in artificial intelligence and autonomy will shape the brand’s exterior and interior design. Audi has been incorporating ’AI’ to its studies which are generally quite wild and radical in nature. We saw the Elaine - a smarter iteration of the Audi Sportback concept, which produced a combined output of 429 horses generated out of three electric motors. Hit the special mode to unveil 67 additional horses that take the car to 62 mph from a standstill in 4.5 seconds. Audi is aiming for a 310-mile range for the Elaine, and it will feature a Level 4 autonomous driving system.

Another concept was the fully-autonomous Aicon. It grabbed everyone’s attention because of its steering wheel-free design and Audi’s claim of a 500-mile range on a single charge. The front and rear will basically be digital display boards that can convey different messages and communicate with pedestrians. In 2019, at the Shanghai Auto Show, Audi showcased the AI:me concept. Although the basic outline and the silhouette match those of the A2, nothing else here bears contemporary or conventional looks. Pronounced "Amy," the AI:me plans to conquer mega-cities with a comfortable, compact car that's easy to drive (be driven too!), easy to park, and easy to maintain. The biggest takeaway is that this autonomous Audi compact car has maximized the space inside while maintaining the small footprint, thus proving its worth as the next mega-city car.

If you wish to see them in person, Audi says that all the four studies can be seen at IAA 2019 in Frankfurt at the Audi stand in Hall 3. Which is your favorite study of the lot till now? Share them with us in the comments section below.

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2019 Audi AI:ME Concept.

Check out more details on the 2018 Audi Aicon.

Read our full review on the 2017 Audi Elaine.