FUTURE VISION

AUDI IS BRINGING OUR MOTORING DREAMS OF TOMORROW CLOSER WITH ITS AMBITIOUS CONCEPT CARS

ONE OF THE MOST INTRIGUING AND DIVISIVE QUESTIONS OF OUR TIME HAS TO BE: How will we adapt in a society that is going through such rapid change and innovation?

This unprecedented transformation no longer spans generations, decades or even years but comes in shorter bursts with groundbreaking ideas and technologies so far-reaching that they are remodelling our everyday life.

Adapting to such fast-paced advances can mean we have to approach every day differently – and due to the speed of each new development, our lives can feel increasingly disrupted. During these periods of turbulence, we need to possess a clear vision – something that Audi prides itself on and is already using to shape the future.

‘The technological possibilities are expanding more and more and our expectations are growing. Vehicles become experience devices and extra living spaces in which time is used more meaningfully and valuably,’ says Henrik Wenders, head of brand Audi, on the development of luxury vehicles in the future.

In order to maximise our time spent on the road, we need to combine vision, technology and a design that is trendsetting but, more importantly, focuses on the user. A design that does not include unnecessary details, but which is both interesting and inspiring.

Dr Mateo Kries, director of Germany’s Vitra Design Museum, explains what the form-meets-function design of today and the future must aim for: ‘Design touches people through timelessness and beauty. And beauty is, to quote the architect Mies van der Rohe, “the splendour of truth”.’

But how can we prepare for the future during a time of such high-speed change? Dr Kries answers this confidently: ‘When it is futuristic and solves real problems.’ This ethos

is ingrained into the progressive DNA at Audi, most notably with its sphere family of concept cars, through which it is reinventing the idea of travel.

The concept car family is the strongest response to the question mark over the future of premium-luxury travel. Wenders describes it in a nutshell: ‘We are no longer waiting for the future; we are building it day by day.’

The vehicle itself becomes an experience mechanism, featuring a forward-thinking design that understands every passenger and their needs, ranging from retreat and relaxation to connection and productivity. This design serves our daily growing demands for ever-new lifestyle technology.

‘Design must be relevant and make a difference,’ emphasises Dr Kries. Only then will it still be as attractive to us tomorrow as it is today. Audi makes this difference. With the perfect interplay of technology and beauty. With a design narrative that works from the inside out, starting with the needs of the passenger. What do we gain? The greatest luxury of all: time, space and evolution. This is how Audi makes luxury travel of the future more valuable than ever before. For Audi, the future is an attitude.

As Wenders explains it: ‘If someone ever asks me how long it took me to get from A to B, my ideal answer is, “I don’t know” because it has now become much more about the experience of getting there.’

Find out more about the Audi sphere family at progress.audi/concept-cars-uk

“THE AUDI DESIGN DOES NOT WANT TO POLARISE. IT WANTS TO BE LIKED AND PERCEIVED AS BEAUTIFUL”

HENRIK WENDERS,

HEAD OF BRAND AUDI

THE AUDI CONCEPT CARS IMPRESS WITH THEIR FUTURISTIC DESIGN: THE AUDI SKYSPHERE CONCEPT, THE AUDI GRANDSPHERE CONCEPT AND THE AUDI URBANSPHERE CONCEPT THE VEHICLES SHOWN ARE CONCEPT CARS, NOT AVAILABLE AS PRODUCTION MODELS

THE HIGHLIGHT IN THE COCKPIT IS THE DIGITAL SCREEN HENRIK WENDERS, HEAD OF BRAND AUDI, IN CONVERSATION WITH DR MATEO KRIES, DIRECTOR OF THE VITRA DESIGN MUSEUM IN WEIL AM RHEIN THE VEHICLES SHOWN ARE CONCEPT CARS, NOT AVAILABLE AS PRODUCTION MODELS