The automotive industry expects radical changes in the next ten years. The level of vehicle automation is increasing and is likely to culminate in autonomous driving. In addition, the end of the combustion engine is drawing ever closer. And with the resulting change in platform and technology, the design of future vehicles will naturally also change. Audi has dealt with these radical changes at a comparatively early stage, but has so far tended to try to build a bridge between the past and the future. While the technology of purely electric models was completely new, the design of the vehicles was more of an evolution of the familiar Audi design. But as Audi has now announced, this was only a first step into the future of automotive design.
Car Design Will Change Radically
In an interview with Car & Driver at Audi's design loft in Malibu, California, Audi's head of development, Oliver Hoffmann, and head of design, Mark Lichte, explained their view of Audi's future. According to Lichte, global markets are playing an increasingly important role in Audi's design. With design studios in the United States and China, they have the opportunity to draw inspiration from the most important markets for the brand. At the same time, however, he cautioned that while each market has its own identity, an Audi will always be unmistakably recognizable as an Audi.
However, the new skateboard architectures in the electric age are also accompanied by many new freedoms compared to combustion engine chassis'. According to Hoffmann, this does not mean that there will be fewer discussions between designers and developers. The height growth of the vehicles triggered by the batteries in the underbody in particular makes for haggling in the millimeter range.
Audi Wants To Reinvent The SUV
Last year, Audi began presenting a series of concept vehicles. The first was the Skysphere GT from the Design Loft in California, followed by the Grandsphere luxury sedan in Munich, and the Urbansphere van in China. The term "sphere" in the names refers to the interior space, which was first designed and developed before the car was built around it. This approach could also be used for future production vehicles. The fourth and final concept in the Sphere series is the upcoming Activesphere concept. According to Lichte, it will not only include features for automated driving but also represent Audi's next big step in design. He announced that Audi is even looking to evolve the definition of an SUV with this concept because future vehicles will have a lower height for maximum aerodynamic efficiency.