Audi Grand Sphere Concept Will Be Showcased On September 2nd

Audi has approved the design of the high-tech Project Artemis electric car, which will debut in 2024 as the company's new flagship, and will debut a concept version at the Munich Auto Show in September.

The Grand Sphere, which will be unveiled on September 2nd, will be one of three display cars produced by the German brand in the next year to demonstrate its approach to vehicles with level-four autonomous driving systems. The A8 saloon will be replaced as Audi's premium flagship by the production version. It will be launched in 2024 and go on sale the following year.

Project Artemis is charged with creating new platforms and software to support a new generation of completely electric, autonomous-ready Audi vehicles. It was formerly managed as a stand-alone firm but was recently brought entirely in-house.

Following the newest Audi EVs, such as the E-tron GT and Q4 E-tron, these will represent the next big technological step. Project Artemis was tasked with creating a long-range grand tourer that could make use of such autonomous technologies, which will be accessible on a restricted number of routes with the required infrastructure at first.

The Project Artemis production car, codenamed Landjet, was designed as a replacement to the A8 and will compete with Mercedes-new Benz's EQS electric luxury limousine. The Landjet moniker is said to relate to the interior's emphasis on 'first-class' luxury, comparable to that of a private jet.

Landjet will be the first model from the Volkswagen Group to have the sophisticated new SSP architecture. It will also employ Cariad, the Volkswagen Group's in-house software arm, to build a high-tech VW.OS software package. The vehicle will be available later this year.

Moreover, Landjet will be one of the first cars to employ Volkswagen Group's unified-cell battery technology on the WLTP test cycle, giving it a range of roughly 600 kilometers (373 miles). It'll probably have an 800V electrical structure to handle charging rates of up to 350kW from ultra-quick gadgets.

Audi hasn't revealed any further information about the car's performance or power output. Its sophisticated software, like that of the related Volkswagen Trinity concept, will be paired with a variety of sensors and networking technologies to allow enhanced autonomous driving.

Grand Sphere is a first peek of Audi's dramatic new design language. According to Lichte, Project Artemis' concentration on autonomy necessitated a dramatic shift in design approach, with the internal design taking precedence and the outside molded to suit. Audi has released some spy shots of a car with a sleek, grand tourer-style profile but a big, SUV-like body section.

The concept will emphasize the final car's "breathtaking dimensions" while retaining several recognizable design features. These include muscle lines and Audi's distinctive single-frame grille, however, instead of a typical engine-cooling grille, it will enclose a glass housing for ADAS sensors.

While the Grand Sphere has been intended to be self-driving, Lichte insists that it will still have a driver emphasis. He remarked, "It's an Audi, and an Audi must be a joy to drive." The steering wheel is retained in the concept, but it will retract into the dashboard while the automobile is in autonomous mode. That dashboard will also have a completely new design, with no physical buttons or displays.

More Sphere concepts are on the way. Within the next year, the Grand Sphere will be accompanied by two other prototypes, both of which have been presented in a short video, that will investigate the future design of autonomous-enabled Audi automobiles.

The trio will explore concepts centered on the inner automobile as a living “sphere,” according to Audi external design head Philipp Römers. “Inside bold, outside magic; is a claim we make. These principles don't just apply to the D-segment; we can see them in other segments as well."

The Sky Sphere will be the first of the three to break cover, debuting in August at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The teaser image implies it will be a long, two-door coupé with an unusually large hood for an electric vehicle. It's "a driver's car and an autonomous vehicle at the same time," according to Audi sales head Henrik Wenders.

Source: AutoCar