Audi’s latest concept car is a luxury coupe that transforms into a truck

Audi has been on the run lately with some interesting concept cars, tackling everything from gigantic urban people movers to self-driving villainous sedans. A very sleek looking electric luxury coupe that transforms into a pickup truck with

With truly impressive ground clearance, large 22-inch wheels and a hatchback that transforms into an open cargo bed at the push of a button, the Activesphere has been described as Audi’s most versatile concept. When you’re tired of cruising the average streets of your city, you can take this rugged car spaceship out on the open road without worrying about leaving the pavement behind.

Active Sphere is the “culmination” of the German automaker’s Sphere concept, four concepts representing each of the four rings in the Audi logo. (I don’t think you’ll get a fifth ring to tie them all together in the dark. Probably the best.)

Also, Activesphere is more than just a design experiment. It sits on top of a modular electric drive platform that Audi is developing with sister company Porsche, and will have a real impact on future production vehicles. The ActiveSphere platform, called Premium Platform Electric (PPE), will be the foundation for future Audi performance vehicles to be released in late 2023.

The PPE platform includes an 800-volt architecture that enables fast charging, similar to the Audi E-tron GT Quattro. That means you can drive 300 km after just 10 minutes of charging.

The PPE will serve “an unprecedented range of mass-produced vehicles, including SUVs and CUVs with high ground clearance, but also some of Audi’s core product It also includes a car with a flat silhouette, whose external dimensions and wheelbase are almost identical to those of the Audi Active Sphere Concept,” says Audi.

But this is a concept. Who cares about boring technology? Give us something good!What about augmented reality and “mixed reality optics”? or “tech headsets [that] It provides a view of the real environment and routes while showing 3D content and interactive elements at the same time. ” Enough nuts for you?

Audi is the only modern automaker to incorporate in-vehicle AR and VR capabilities as a way to enhance or complement the driving experience. Of course, given the autonomous capabilities of Active Sphere, using a headset to provide more information about your car shouldn’t necessarily be seen as distracting or dangerous. (It’s just a concept, after all.) And once the steering wheel and other driving his controls are retracted, the rider gets the full experience while wearing these devices. .

Active Sphere covers a range of interesting design choices, such as the carriage door, which provides a wider entrance to the vehicle, and the aforementioned retractable steering wheel, which emphasizes the vehicle’s autonomous capabilities.

In fact, the Active Sphere is truly a buffet of moving parts. The ground clearance of the vehicle is adjustable from a basic height of 208 mm up to a maximum of 40 mm. The same level of lowdown is possible during on-road driving. As the vehicle moves up and down, the driver is visually represented thanks to rows of interlocking metal strips under the doors on each side. You have to see it to be believed.

The rear hatch can also be reconfigured into an open-air cargo bed, perfect for carrying e-bikes and other outdoor gear. A partition is raised to separate the rider and rear cargo area, much like the midgate on a pickup truck. Audi calls this “active back”.

ActiveSphere is the fourth in a series of concept cars that the German automaker says will “reinvent today’s mobility”. The first model is the Skysphere, a sleek, villain-looking electric convertible with an adjustable chassis. Next up is the Grand Sphere, a spacious electric sedan with a Kardashian-like interior. And his third is Urban Sphere, a giant autonomous people mover for megacities with heavy traffic.