Audi AI:TRAIL quattro, the off-road vision of Audi for the future

The Audi AI:TRAIL quattro prototype points to a future in off-road driving, one even capable of driving almost without human intervention

Let us imagine a not-too-distant future in which people’s mobility is based on electric vehicles with maximum levels of autonomous driving. It isn’t hard to picture, is it?

Now, let us suppose that this electric and autonomous mobility goes beyond the limits of asphalt: a vehicle that relies on electricity for its propulsion as well as for its habitability, comfort, infotainment systems and so on, but dispenses with human driving in certain situations and could also be used in conditions typical of off-road driving.

This is how Audi presents the off-road vehicles of the future, from the German motor show in Frankfurt: electric and autonomous. The Audi AI:TRAIL is an exercise in foresight, design and engineering on how cars with off-road capabilities should look in the future.

A sustainable off-roader

At least in terms of what current environmental policies demand, since, being electric, it does not rely on fossil fuels for its propulsion.

It has a battery, located in the floor of the chassis, to store energy and at the same time favour balance and weight distribution. These lithium-ion cells allow it to cover up to 450 to 500 km on a single charge and, in extreme use, for example in off-road mode, up to 250 kilometres.

Its propulsion features four electric motors, each located at one wheel, giving it permanent all-wheel drive quattro, the brand’s hallmark.

Because each wheel receives the work generated by its own motor individually, the Audi AI:TRAIL does not need the traditional differentials or locking mechanisms found in conventional off-roaders and in cars with single motors, whose traction distribution requires the intervention and equipment of assistance systems to be effective.

In total, we are talking about a 320 kW vehicle, equivalent to 435 CV and a brutal maximum torque of 1,000 Nm, with a top speed of 130 km/h on paved surfaces.

Beyond its nature as an electric car or off-roader, the prototype has dimensions of 4.15 metres in length, 2.15 m in width and 1.67 metres in height when stationary, with 34 centimetres of ground clearance, which, together with 850 mm tyres mounted on 22-inch rims, allow it to tackle obstacles off the asphalt and even wade through water more than half a metre deep.

With its weight of 1,750 kg, its configuration and construction allow it to perform with ease as a crossover vehicle, and the architecture lets occupants observe the activity around them, whether the car is being driven or the Audi AI:TRAIL is running in autonomous mode.

Without human intervention

Although the protagonists of the Audi AI:TRAIL quattro’s cabin are its occupants, hence its glass envelope, this prototype can move and drive autonomously at Level 4.

As if they were in the cockpit of an aircraft, passengers can watch the vehicle drive itself, with none of the humans having to do anything beyond enjoying the road trip.

For now, this Level 4 autonomous driving is established and designed to operate in specific areas such as motorways or urban zones, provided they have the relevant equipment and infrastructure.

https://youtu.be/7wmdoye9iDQ

Conceptual prototypes for a real exhibition

Alongside the conceptual prototypes previously presented as Aicon, AI:ME and AI:RACE, this new Audi AI:TRAIL quattro will be on display with its siblings as one of the attractions and novelties of the Frankfurt Motor Show, which opens its doors to the general public from 12 to 22 September.