New EV concept convertible reveals new direction for automaker

Audi’s newest concept car is a sleek and sinister electric convertible called the Skysphere that combines Batmobile-like technologies and aggressive design features with luxury equipment.

Most notably, the roadster concept includes an adaptable wheelbase that can change size depending on driving modes and a digital cockpit with a retractable steering wheel and pedals designed to stow when the car is being driven.

“This is what we call progressive luxury,” Henrik Wenders, director of Audi, said at a media event for the vehicle’s digital unveiling on Tuesday. “It’s not more of a car, it’s an experience device.”

The concept car represents what Audi believes it can achieve, likely in the second half of this decade, as it turns to electric and autonomous vehicles, company officials say. Audi plans to offer electric vehicles exclusively by 2033, after the introduction of its last internal combustion engine vehicle in 2026.

Audi has said the Skysphere is designed to drive itself, but cannot do so at the moment. It’s unclear how feasible a size-changing vehicle would be for a production model. Its EV range is around 310 miles, according to Audi.

Wenders said auto brands like Audi need to think about what might be possible with electric vehicles, even though advanced technologies, such as an adjustable wheelbase, may not currently be on the horizon.

Besides the technologies, the vehicle signals a new direction of design for the luxury brand owned by Volkswagen. Gael Buzyn, director of Audi’s design studio in Malibu, said that “there are many elements” of the car that will make it into future production vehicles.

Audi executives said the vehicle was essentially “two vehicles in one”. The former is an aggressively driven roadster capable of reaching 60 mph in about four seconds and offers around 553 pound-feet of torque. The second is a grand touring car that will self-drive and extend about 10 inches for a larger, more comfortable cabin.

“It’s not just a design study, it’s a concept that shows us, internally and externally, what’s possible,” said Wenders. “It’s a concept that shows us how we combine both a driving experience with an immersive digital experience. It’s two in one.”

The car was unveiled Tuesday for Monterey Car Week 2021 in California, a premium car festival that includes the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance auto show.

The Skysphere is the first in a new family of concept vehicles focused on Audi’s shift from cars to ‘experience devices’. The second vehicle, called Grandsphere, is expected to be unveiled on September 1, followed by the Urbansphere in the first half of 2022.

The term “sphere” is believed to symbolize the interior space of vehicles for drivers and passengers, according to Audi.

“These concept cars feature a new design that ultimately reinvents the interior, the cabin, as the center of the vehicle and no longer subordinates the passenger experience to the demands of technology,” the company said in a statement.

Car manufacturers regularly use concept vehicles to gauge customer interest or show the future direction of a vehicle or brand.