Business Maverick

This article is more than 6 years old

Business Maverick, Motoring

Audi concepts: Is this motoring’s future?

Interior

By Deon Schoeman

18 Oct 2018

Last month’s world debut of the Audi e-tron serves as a reminder just how close the reality of electric cars really is — even in South Africa. But if Audi’s current concept cars are anything to go by, it’s only the start of an even grander mobility vision.

By conventional motoring standards, there’s nothing particularly automotive about the Audi Aicon concept car’s interior. There’s no steering wheel. No pedals. And no dashboard.

Instead, think of it as a surprisingly large and airy glassed-in space, occupied by two plushly upholstered, reclining loungers that can slide steplessly from front to rear according to the occupant’s whims.

There is a rear bench, but it looks more like a small sofa cleverly integrated into the rear bulkhead. Instruments? A curved digital display wraps its way around much of the cabin, providing information and entertainment, while acting as the primary control interface, too.

Detail
Colour: Circuit grey

Is this the future of motoring? Well, it could be at least a part of that future, Audi believes. The Aicon isn’t a car in the conventional, currently accepted sense: it’s a lounge on wheels, cosseting its occupants in first-class comfort while whisking them to their destination.

Specifically, the Aicon has been designed for long-distance, intercity travel. And instead of owning it, users will rent it only for a specific journey at a time.

It’s part of a future motoring vision that relies on consumers selecting a particular, purpose-designed vehicle for an equally specific application: short distance commuting, family transport or executive motoring, for example.

Instead of owning one vehicle, and trying to make that vehicle perform many different roles, Audi’s vision contemplates the feasibility of providing access to multiple, role-specific vehicles, with consumers only paying to use them.

Interior

The Aicon offers a convenient, luxurious and personalised space for a journey that would otherwise be embarked on by air, or high-speed train. Instead, you get your own, personal pod, customisable to suit personal preference and operating completely autonomously.

No need to check in, to queue for security, to arrive at an airport hours ahead of time; let alone dealing with the traffic on the way there. The Aicon arrives at your door at the allotted time and transports you to your destination in the lap of luxury.

Pod is hardly an apt description for the sleek, futuristic Aicon. It’s a sculpted, low-slung thing of beauty, promising wind-cheating aerodynamics. A long wheelbase optimises cabin space, while flush glass surfaces allow a bright interior.

The transparent glass roof can be darkened to provide shade, while the generous windows deliver panoramic views. LED ambient lighting can be adjusted for intensity and hue, while key controls on the digital display can be moved around to match a specific seating position.

Want to watch a movie? Check. Video conference calls? Check. Post to Facebook or share on Instagram? Check. The Aicon cabin is office, lounge and home theatre all rolled into a single, innovative mobility solution.

Interior

Traffic jams? A thing of the past in the Aicon’s autonomous motoring world where all cars and systems are interconnected, allowing pre-emptive traffic data interchange and smooth traffic flow. No more start-stop traffic jams, no hard braking or acceleration. And no need for seatbelts!

In this autonomous universe, cars like the Aicon navigate themselves along the best, most efficient route, while remaining cognisant of how much charge remains available for the electric drivetrain. Yes, the Aicon is electrically powered.

Dynamic photo,
Colour: Augmented White

A quartet of electric motors — one for each wheel — delivers a combined output of 260kW and 550Nm, deployed in the most energy efficient way to maximise range, while also ensuring superior traction and refinement. That allows for an operating range of up to 800km.

No need for tar-ripping acceleration or land speed record velocities here: The emphasis is on consistent, manageable cruising speeds of about 130km/h. Try and average that on our current roads…

En-route charging is fully automated and inductive: 30 minutes on a charge pad is all it takes to top up the solid-state batteries under the floor of the Aicon to 80% capacity. That’s just enough time to sip a cappuccino.

Static photo
Colour: Circuit grey

On the move, pneumatic suspension continuously adjusts the spring rates and damper settings to smooth out less forgiving surfaces, while the wheels are able to tilt to counter body lean during cornering and braking.

Without a steering wheel, there’s no need for a steering rack: the Aicon turns intelligently using all four wheels, making for exceptionally nimble handling and a tiny turning circle — invaluable when it comes to parking in tight spaces.

So, the Aicon is tomorrow’s answer to safe, fast, luxurious long-distance transport. But what happened to the notion of driving pleasure — of chasing down the twisty tar ribbon of a mountain pass, or setting personal bests at a track day?

Static photo,
Colour: Augmented White

Audi’s vision of drive-what-you-need caters for this scenario, too: meet the PB18 e-tron. It could well be the Audi R8 of the future: a purebred sports car, focused on offering an engaging, heart-stopping driving experience.

Cars like this are usually the preserve of enthusiasts with the means to indulge in an expensive weekend toy. But the PB18 e-tron is another of those cars you’ll only order for a day at the track or a weekend on the Garden Route.

Detail
Colour: Circuit grey

As the e-tron moniker confirms, the PB18 is also a pure electric car. But here, the focus is very much on supercar performance. You can see the race car DNA of Audi’s Le Mans-winning R18 LMP1 racers in the wide, squat stance, the huge wheels and the wide sills.

Radical styling apart, the PB18 is also resolutely non-autonomous. This is a car you need to drive yourself, with both hands on the wheel. And you wouldn’t want it any different.

The PB18’s most obvious party trick is its variable seating. For track days the driver’s seat slides to the centre of the cockpit, providing a single seater-style, perfectly symmetrical driving position.

Static photo,
Colour: Augmented White

However, for that mountain pass weekend, the driving seat moves sideways to a more conventional position, revealing a second, low-slung passenger seat. The entire cockpit, including steering, brakes and throttle, is drive-by-wire, which makes the seating change possible.

Like the LMP1 race car, the PB18 has a huge, raked front windscreen, ensuring a perfect view of the road (or track) ahead. It’s made even better by the front’s steeply angled bonnet line, which makes picking up corner apex points (or kerbs and potholes) a cinch.

Unlike the LMP1 racer, the PB18’s extended, shooting brake-style roofline hides a substantial 460-litre luggage compartment — massive by supercar standards. A bespoke luggage set comes standard.

Supercar looks should be accompanied by supercar performance. Make that hypercar dynamics in this case, thanks to an all-electric drivetrain devoted to going fast. Really fast.

The PB18 e-tron’s urge comes from three electric motors — one up front, two at the back. As with the Aicon, the solid-state battery pack lives low down, in the floor section, to benefit handling.

Together, the trio of motors serves up 500kW (570kW for short bursts) and a fat, instantly delivered 830Nm of torque. It’s that instantaneous urge, delivered to all four wheels simultaneously, that produces head-snapping acceleration.

Detail
Colour: Circuit grey

Audi promises a low two-second time for the 0-100km/h dash — which is close to what the once all-conquering Le Mans racer was capable of. Top speed isn’t specified, but accept that allowing the Audi free rein on any public road is likely to get you into deep trouble with the law — if they can catch you…

The driver decides how much of the 95kWh battery pack’s charge should be devoted to performance versus range. Driven with some circumspection, the PB18 should manage around 500km on a charge — but that will shrink considerably when you start thrashing it.

Just as well then that electric supercar shares the Aicon’s wireless, inductive charging technology, as well as a fast charge rate.

Detail

As for handling, the suspension formula is classic sports car: double wishbones front and rear, with pushrods up front and a pullrod-system on the rear axle. At least the dampers are adaptive to add a measure of tech, while massive 22-inch alloys and fat rubber provide the necessary traction.

The refreshingly analogue configuration promises the kind of direct, unequivocal communication between car and driver so pivotal to the driving experience. Expect to feel every bump and dip, every ridge and groove — because you want to.

Detail
Colour: Circuit grey

If traditionalists scoffed at the notion of an electric sports car and warned against the anodyne commuting experience suggested by autonomous driving technology, then these two Audi concepts seem to suggest that the motoring future could be both enjoyable and far-reaching.

The real significance of the Aicon and the PB18 e-tron doesn’t lie in the advanced technology they employ. After all, some of that tech has already become a motoring reality: high-capacity batteries, fast charging, digital cockpits, and even camera-based rear-view mirrors are hallmarks of the Audi e-tron SUV, due in most markets by next year.

Dynamic photo
Colour: Circuit grey

More pertinent is Audi’s mobility vision, which eschews our ingrained need for motor car ownership, and offers a vision of purpose-specific cars, from urban commuters and luxury long-distance travellers to thoroughbred sports cars.

As sexy and superfast as the PB18 is, its real-world application is very specific, and very limited. But if you could buy the PB18 experience for only the time you need it, its charms would become much more accessible (and sensible).

Interior

Similarly, while most families embrace the notion of a spacious, all-wheel drive SUV that can tackle challenging off-road terrain, few will find a day-to-day need for such talents. Come the holidays, when the great outdoors beckons, it makes perfect sense, though.

Enjoying the use of a car rather than owning the car itself not only makes personal mobility more affordable, but also more efficient. It could also reduce the number of cars on our roads, with commensurate environmental benefits.

Add sustainable production, zero-emissions drivetrains, car sharing schemes and the allure of intelligent autonomous driving, and the motoring world is hurtling towards a fascinating future. DM

Categories:

Tags:

DM is much better if you are signed in...

Business Maverick