Radical AI:Trail is Audi’s vision of an off-roader of the future
INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH
While Land Rover’s new Defender got the most eyeballs at the Frankfurt Motor Show, a few halls away Audi design boss Marc Lichte was on stage sharing his imaginations of a future off-roader with the radical looking AI:Trail concept.
He says it could arrive as early as 2030 and get this: you may not own it but you can enjoy it through Audi’s vision of shared motoring, a system that allows subscribers to choose between any of the four AI cars that match your travel needs at any given moment.
The quartet of concept cars envisioned for this are Aicon from the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, which offers a loungelike space; the AI: Race for spirited drives up mountain passes and race tracks; the AI:Me concept from the last Shanghai motor show, which is a compact city car; and this latest AI:Trail for bundu-bashing.
“It’s how we imagine a future Audi SUV could look,” said Lichte to throngs of global media converged on the Audi stand.
NO NONSENSE
The electric, four-wheel drive concept is 4.15m long and rides on gigantic 22-inch wheels with the ability to adjust tyre pressure while on the move.
A 340mm ground clearance makes it a no-nonsense offroader that can also ford water more than half a metre deep.
Four electric motors positioned at each wheel not only allow for maximum cabin space but they provide a quattro allwheel drive system.
The motors collectively produce 320kW and a hill-scaling 1,000Nm of torque. Thanks to lightweight construction using a mixture of hi-tech steel, aluminium and carbon fibre, it weighs a relatively light 1,750kg.
The concept is envisioned to do 250 off-road kilometres while able to drive 400km on pure tarmac with a top speed of 130km/h.
Lichte says the level 4 autonomy moon buggy-like vehicle features many possible future Audi design cues that could be adopted for production models, like the pronounced belt line.
The AI:Trail is a four-seater. The rear pair of seats is quite flexible and could perhaps be hauled out to be used outdoors while further touches to the concept of an active lifestyle include a compartment to stash dirty takkies in.
It also has a stack of detachable headlights that can be hung on a drone. The idea is for the drone to fly forward, lighting the path ahead should you be foraging forests in the night.
THE REAR PAIR OF FLEXIBLE AND COULD