Audi Skysphere can change shape

The Audi Skysphere is not your average concept car.

Sure, it’s got head-turning looks, outrageous 23-inch alloy wheels, a thumping 465kW electric motor, a lavish interior and unorthodox rear-hinged doors.

But the coolest feature of the Skysphere is undoubtedly its transforming ability, whereby the body can extend or shrink by 250mm at the touch of a button to fulfil two distinct driving philosophies.

The Skysphere previews Audi’s evolving design philosophy and is the first of three new concepts built to remind us that Level 4 (close your eyes and sleep) autonomous vehicles are still coming.

Indeed, like the Skysphere, the Audi Grandsphere (which previews an Audi A8 replacement due in 2025) and Urbansphere concepts will expound on the German car-maker’s continued push to achieve Level 4 autonomous driving functionality for production vehicles.

The Skysphere was created at Audi’s new Malibu design studio, and head designer Gael Buzyn was quick to point out at a pre-reveal event that the striking concept wasn’t a precursor to an all-new ‘big daddy’ electric roadster that would sit above the Audi TT and rival the upcoming second-generation Tesla Roadster.

“I would say it’s a study but a lot of the elements are going to be seen in the future into production, but I can’t say exactly which ones,” said Buzyn.

“But the overall design language is for sure going to blend into production vehicles,” he said.

Audi brand strategist for connected cars, Philip Gündert added: “From our perspective we would definitely say this is a concept car first of all. So for us, at the moment, this is a vision, a wholistic vision.”

A modern take on the classic luxury roadster, the Audi Skysphere soft-top will make its public debut at Pebble Beach golf course as part of the Monterey Car Week on August 13, 2021, and is pitched as a futuristic self-driving grand tourer in its fully extended mode.

In GT form it offers huge amounts of interior space for its two occupants, and even the steering wheel and pedals fold away to provide more room to stretch out.

The steering wheel and pedals can even fold away as the car drives itself, leaving occupants to take in the scenery or watch a movie.

It features a full-width touch-screen that stretches the entire width of the dashboard and high levels of car connectivity.

In its GT form, the Skysphere measures 5.19m long and is designed to preview a high-end luxury vehicle “in which the interior becomes an interactive space and the vehicle a platform for captivating experiences”.

With one button press, however, a number of electric motors kick into action alongside a clever sliding body and frame mechanism that shorten the car’s body and wheelbase by 250mm, to 4.94m, as air suspension drops the car 10mm lower.

Switching from GT to Sports mode, the Audi Skysphere’s roadster form is designed to be an out-and-out apex hunter, its massive wheels, adaptive air suspension and four-wheel steering creating a more dynamic sports car designed for attacking corners.

The screen moves and angles towards the driver, the suspension and throttle response sharpen up and the end result is a driver-focused roadster.

It’s powered by a single electric motor located on the rear axle, which generates a brawny 465kW of power and 750Nm of torque.

Audi says that’s enough mumbo to propel the 1800kg luxury land yacht from 0-100km/h in tyre-scorching 4.0sec.

The battery pack density is claimed to be “more than 80kWh” and provides the vehicle with a cruising range of more than 500km (WLTP), “at least in the economical GT mode”.

Buzyn said the Audi Skysphere concept was inspired by the classic Horch 853 roadster from the 1930s, one example of which won the Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach in 2009.