Audi Has A Shocking Plan For This Electric Car Concept

Electrification isn't a new frontier for Audi, nor for the broader Volkswagen Group it's part of. The company already has several models in its e-tron line-up on sale, including several SUVs and a couple of slinky four-door coupes. The A6 e-tron Concept, meanwhile, was a barely-veiled preview of the electric sedan expected to be officially announced later in 2022, and on sale sometime in 2023. A shapely wagon version, the A6 e-tron Avant Concept, could well follow suit, though whether it'll be offered in North America remains to be seen.

What's stood out with all of Audi's electric models so far has been how closely they've stuck to the template laid down by the automaker's existing portfolio. Sure, the internal combustion engines have been ousted in favor of one or two electric motors, and the styling — particularly around things like cooling grilles — has been massaged, but the mental hurdle involved in going from, say, an Audi Q5 SUV to an Audi e-tron SUV hasn't exactly been a challenging one.

That, Audi said back when it launched that first all-electric SUV, was by intent. Its buyers, the automaker claimed, wanted familiarity along with their zero emissions. While other companies might push avant-garde styling or flashy interiors, the e-tron models felt in many ways just like regular Audis that happened to be electric, instead. The Audi Grandsphere — and, more specifically, the production plans that Audi has in mind for it — will absolutely buck that trend.

The gauges aren't the only things missing: so, too, is the steering wheel. The Grandsphere does have one, it just folds away behind a wooden panel when the concept is in autonomous driving mode. Switch to manual mode, and it arches out on a cantilevered arm, the wheel unfurling upright while a minimalistic display built into its frame shows a few key metrics. Because the concept is built on the idea of drive-by-wire, where there's no mechanical connection between turning the steering wheel and the front wheels pivoting left or right (or, for that matter, the actions of the brakes or accelerator), the designers were liberated from such mundanities as a steering column.

Here, Audi is even more aggressive in its promises. The production version of the Grandsphere will be capable of self-driving, the automaker says, though whether that's the case at launch remains to be seen. Technologically, the handiwork for a Level 4 autonomous car — that is, a vehicle that can drive itself without human supervision — is all there, Audi promises. What's holding deployment back is everything else around it, from liability for crashes when vehicles are in driverless mode, to legislation in different countries and regions about the legality of handing control over to the computer.

It's possible, then, that the production Grandsphere (whatever that ends up being called) will support driverless operation in theory, but require a software update down the line to enable it. Perhaps first on certain stretches of road, like highways, which might be easier to control than a self-driving free-for-all. That's the theory, anyway. As we've seen before, the broader challenges of safe autonomous operation can stymie even the best of intentions

When the Grandsphere-inspired production car finally arrives, then, it may or may not be capable of driving itself. That could mean that the trick steering wheel, with its disappearing mechanism, also may not make the cut. What feels more important, and more exciting, though, is the change in overall strategy for electrification that the EV symbolizes for Audi. No more hiding its green tech behind an unthreateningly familiar facade.

The concept is, in contrast, stark in its reductionism. It's not minimalist, per se: There's still plenty going on, from the construction of the seats which resemble mid-century modern lounge chairs and sofas, to the faintly twee vase integrated into the floating center console. However, it relies on the visual and physical tactility of its materials, and the discretion of mostly hidden technology, to aesthetically please.

For the most part, it works. You might long for a little more of the playfulness you see hints of in the Grandsphere, like the purple color reserved for the front seat structures. The rest of the color scheme feels a touch too restrained, like a boutique hotel room that's trying a little too hard. If Audi can dial the personality up, without also having to reintroduce so much of the visual cruft that modern vehicles are scattershot with, the end result will be a far more gratifying place than, say, the somewhat forced starkness of a Tesla cabin.