After the Grandsphere Concept and Skysphere Concept, Audi has presented the third member of this unique family of electric prototypes: the Urbansphere Concept, a luxurious minivan with certain crossover features that takes advantage of its 100% electric concept to offer a spacious cabin.
While the Grandsphere was a radical reinterpretation of classic luxury sedans and the Skysphere a convertible grand tourer, the Urbansphere is presented as a vision of future urban mobility, in which highly automated vehicles will offer more comfortable interior environments. diaphanous and habitable.
The Audi Urbansphere Concept measures 5.51 meters long, 2.01 meters wide, and 1.78 meters high. Its aesthetics is conditioned by the objective of maximizing habitability: it has a hood reduced to its minimum expression, a very advanced windshield, a generous wheelbase of 3.40 meters, and a fairly vertical design behind it.
Despite its minivan concept, Audi has also included some elements inspired by the world of SUVs to give it a more modern and forceful touch (high front, somewhat raised suspension, 24-inch wheels…). The Singleframe grille stands out for integrating the Audi Light Canvas digital surface.
The Audi Urbansphere Concept takes a similar approach to the Mercedes-Benz EQV
However, the real protagonist is the cabin. Access should be easy thanks to rear-facing rear doors and no B-pillar. Inside, the user is greeted by four completely individual seats. The rear, reclining, incorporate footrests and have its sound zone. In addition, passengers in the second row enjoy a huge transparent OLED screen, through which they can watch movies, hold conferences, etc.
Conceived (on paper) as a level 4 autonomous car, the Audi Urbansphere Concept can also be driven manually. When the driver selects autonomous mode, the steering wheel and pedals are hidden, following in the footsteps of other Volkswagen Group autonomous concept cars.
Its 120 kWh capacity battery pack, which gives it a range of 750 km WLTP, is associated with a drive train made up of two motors (one on each axle, so it has total traction) capable of delivering 401 CV (295 kW) of power and 690 Nm of torque.
The prototype sits on the PPE modular platform, developed jointly with Porsche. Therefore, it has an 800-volt electrical system, which allows it to charge at a maximum of 270 kW of power in direct current, recovering more than 300 km WLTP in 10 minutes and going from 5 to 80% in less than 25 minutes. minutes.
Will the Urbansphere Concept make it to production, as the Grandsphere Concept will? Although it is still early to predict it, the truth is that it could make sense to launch a vehicle with these characteristics to stand up to the Mercedes-Benz EQV.
