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At first glance, the grandphere is recognizable as an Audi fastback sedan. But it turns the usual way of doing things in luxury cars upside down.
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The rear is contoured in a nod to Audi’s pre-war racing machines.
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Audi has managed to make the grandphere a four-door sedan, but also a grand tourer 2 + 2 at the same time.
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The front “Singleframe” is no longer a real grille for air intakes and cooling.
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The interior uses a mix of fabrics, woods and recycled materials, but no leather. Here the driver’s controls are deployed.
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And here the car is in autonomous mode. Note the displays projected on the dashboard.
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Let’s take a closer look at the steering wheel of the grandphere.
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There’s the usual level of a luxury sedan at the rear, but it’s overshadowed by the expansive front row. Usually it is the other way around in a luxury car.
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If the front seats are first class travel, the rear seats may feel a bit second class.
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Audi’s upcoming PPE platform uses an 800V electrical architecture and can recharge quickly in under 20 minutes.
Audi
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In the future where the bigphere comes from, the implementation of these side cameras is probably better than when we first tried them in 2018.
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Audi’s design team is in the midst of what might be called its “trilogy of spheres,” exploring how autonomous driving could alter the experience of a luxury car. At Monterey Car Week in August, the team showed off the skysphere, which goes from a stocky sports car to a self-driving cruiser, extending its wheelbase as the driver’s controls fold out of sight. Soon we’ll see the (presumably compact) urban sphere, but today it’s the grandphere sedan’s turn. And no, none of the names are capitalized.
The grandphere does not need a morphing body; the vehicle is long enough that there is always more than enough room inside, no matter who is driving. At first glance, the car looks like a grand tourer, but there is a visual twist at work. The base of the windshield is far in front of the A-pillar, curving almost as far as the front axle.
Up front, Audi’s distinctive grille (actually called Singleframe) is no longer an actual grille; this is where the large sphere is recognizable by an Audi. Even in our video briefing, the Singleframe appeared as if it – and therefore the rest of the car – was a render, thanks to the way it was lit from the inside. (Save CGI conspiracies for Ted lasso; the car is a real, life-size physical concept.)
The grandphere is perhaps the first concept I’ve seen that handles the trick of a four-seater sedan. and a 2 + 2 at the same time. The car is over 17 feet long (5.3m to be exact), and you can see from the photos of the door open that the rear looks spacious. But this two-person bench also looks a bit spartan.
Instead, all the attention is focused on the front seats. Audi claims that autonomous driving allows the car to turn the order around when it comes to large luxury sedans, where the backseat is the perfect place to stretch out and relax.
First-class airplane seats are the unmistakable inspiration; the expression “first class” appears seven times in the briefing. I wonder if the effect is the same without the attentive cabin crew asking the occupants if they want something to eat or drink.
Refreshingly, the grandphere is screenless. Instead, the screens are projected onto the wood veneer, with the option of physical controls or gestures and gaze tracking as a way to interact with the infotainment. (There are also VR glasses hidden in the door panels, a nod to Audi’s stake in Holoride.) When it’s time for a human to drive, the wheel pops out of a compartment behind the dashboard.
While I’m not sure there is any suggestion that the Big Sphere will ever be more than a concept, Audi says the vehicle uses the upcoming PPE electric car platform. The company even shared some specifications – “about” 120 kWh of battery power and a total output of 530 kW and 960 Nm from the pair of electric motors (one for each axle).
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