By: Dave Abrahams
Los Angeles, California - The winds of change are blowing thorough the corridors of Ingolstadt and their name is Marc Lichte.
Lichte is Audi's new head of design, and this is his first concept for the company. It's called the Prologue, he says, because it is a 'signature car', heralding a new styling direction for machines bearing the Four Rings.
Gone is the squared-off single frame grille, replaced by a lower, much wider, six-sided grille, made even wider by slim horizontal chromed slats and narrow, slit-eyed matrix laser headlights.
It's big for a two-door coupé, not much smaller than the current A8 sedan at of 5100mm overall on a 2940mm wheelbase, 1950mm wide and 1390mm high, and runs 285/30 rubber on 10-spoked 22” alloy rims.
ELECTRONIC BUTLER
The doors have no handles; they open electromechanically when the illuminated sensor surfaces are touched. An electronic 'butler' identifies the driver and passenger by their smartphones, adjusts the seats and climate control to their preferred settings and suggests music and route planning options based on their previous choices.
The whole front of the dashboard is one large touch display, in three sections; to the left of the screen are lighting controls, to its right, media controls. The front passenger has a widescreen display that controls infotainment functions and allows digital interaction with the driver; for instance, a simple swipe of the hand will transfer a pre-planned route from the passenger to the driver's display.
There's a fourth touch screen on the centre console, a thin flexible surface made up of organic LEDs that used for climate control, handwriting input and drive mode settings.
MILD HYBRID
Given the current political climate, that's probably the biggest surprise in the Prologue, which is indeed a runner with a four-litre TFSI V8 delivering a quoted 445kW and 700Nm (750Nm on overboost) via an eight-speed Tiptronic transmission and quattro all-wheel drive, launching this 1980kg coupé from 0-100k in 3.7 seconds.
The show car's combined-cycle fuel-economy is quoted at 8.6 litres per 100km, partly thanks to a 48-volt electrical system fed by big generator that acts as a mild hybrid, recovering up to 12kW under braking.
Running gear consists of five-link suspension all round, 600mm carbon ceramic disc brakes with six-piston callipers and dynamic all-wheel steering, with the rear wheels turning as much as five degrees, improves agility around town and stability at freeway speeds.