The prototypes with which Audi looked ahead to the future

Audi reminds us of some of the most important prototypes in the brand’s history over the last three decades. A very curious review, which allows us to see not only the evolution of design and technology. It also shows that, on many occasions, these concept cars that enliven the major motor shows conceal many hours of development that often serve to speed up the launch of future production cars.

Audi quattro Spyder Concept (1991)

It seems hard to believe that in the early 1990s Audi already had a prototype like the Spyder Concept, yet did not launch its first supercar, the Audi R8, until almost two decades later. The quattro Spyder Concept already boasted lightweight aluminium construction, and featured a mid-mounted engine and quattro all-wheel drive.

Audi AVUS quattro Concept (1991)

It was presented at the 1991 Tokyo Motor Show and, in a way, confirmed what was already an open secret: Audi was close to launching a car built entirely of aluminium on the market. Its engine was as revolutionary as its design: a 12-cylinder W engine with 6 litres and 509 CV. Ten years later, this W-engine concept made it into series production in the Audi A8.

Audi ASF (1993)

Here we have the first Audi prototype that anticipated to a very high degree what the production version would be. A strategy that the brand with the four rings later followed on many occasions. Its unpainted aluminium body proclaimed loudly the advantages of the Audi Space Frame lightweight construction technology, which Audi still uses today, but combining different materials, not just aluminium. A year later the Audi A8 based on the ASF was presented, which also anticipated the power escalation of the TDI engines, equipped with a twin-turbo V8 TDI that also went into production.

Audi AI2 (1997)

The production car that this prototype gave rise to, the Audi A2 presented in 1999, was not a commercial success because it was a car that was very expensive to produce for a segment B vehicle. But arguably, the AI2 was one of the Audi concept cars that was most ahead of its time. Very light thanks to its aluminium construction, very aerodynamic and with a 1.2 TDI engine at a time when many years remained before the arrival of downsizing, the A2 already achieved, at the end of the 1990s, consumption below 3 l/100 km, without any kind of electrification.

Audi Rosemeyer (2000)

Its 700 CV W16 engine never saw the light of day in any Audi production car. But beyond being an impressive styling exercise, the Rosemeyer deserves mention because it was one of the first Audi prototypes to use video cameras instead of wing mirrors. A technology for which we had to wait until 2018 for a production car: the Audi virtual mirrors of the e-tron electric SUV.

Audi Pikes Peak quattro (2003)

Another of those concepts that clearly anticipated a production model, in this case the Audi Q7, whose first generation launched in 2005, with a design almost identical to the prototype. With the Pikes Peak, Audi already made its commitment to the SUV segment clear: three rows of seats, rear seats with an entertainment system… And we began to see driver-assistance systems that seemed unlikely to reach series production and are now standard. For example, the lane-keeping assist system.

Audi Nuvolari quattro (2003)

In the Audi Nuvolari quattro of 2003 we find many examples of looking ahead to the future. Stylistically, it showed the design language the brand’s upcoming models would follow. Technically, it made its commitment to LED lighting clear, and debuted a 5-litre twin-turbo V10 engine that we saw shortly afterwards in the top-of-the-range Audi S and RS models.

Audi Le Mans quattro Concept (2003)

Three years before the arrival on the market of the Audi R8, the Audi Le Mans quattro Concept already revealed the main lines of Audi’s high-performance two-seater sports car. The pretext for its 2003 presentation was the commemoration of the victories at Le Mans. But in reality, the prototype was almost exactly the production car, with its 610 CV V10 engine, lightweight construction, LED headlights, active aerodynamics and the adaptive damping Audi magnetic ride system that was later used even in the Audi TT.

Audi Roadjet Concept (2006)

As a technical novelty, the Audi Roadjet Concept was the first time we saw at Audi a dual-clutch 7-speed gearbox in a car with a longitudinally mounted engine. Here we saw Audi drive select, the variable-ratio steering and a technology that took almost twenty-five years to become reality: “Car-to-X” data exchange between vehicles, via WLAN connection networks.

Audi Cross Coupé quattro (2007)

For its first compact SUV, the Audi Q3, the brand followed the same strategy as with the Q7: presenting a prototype very similar to the production model. This was the Cross Coupé quattro, which was unveiled at the 2007 Shanghai Motor Show, four years before the market launch of the first generation Q3. At that time TDI engines dominated the market. Here it was presented with a 204 CV 2.0 that already cleaned exhaust gases through a particulate filter.

Audi A1 project quattro (2007)

I’m sure you won’t struggle to see in this unique prototype the shapes of what would later become the Audi A1, the brand’s first car in the city car segment, which arrived in 2010. However, already in 2007, Audi was working on electrification: the A1 project quattro featured a plug-in hybrid system, with a 150 CV 1.4 TFSI engine on the front axle and an electric motor on the rear. It promised around 100 km of range in electric mode.

Audi Sportback concept (2009)

Once again, a concept car served to announce Audi’s interest in a market segment unexplored by the brand. And with the Sportback concept they previewed the main lines of the production Audi A7 Sportback that would arrive almost two years later. It featured an advanced automatic parking system, as the start of the aids for autonomous driving.

Audi Crosslane Coupé (2012)

Lightweight construction, but combining the advantages of aluminium with other materials, such as carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) and glass-fibre-reinforced plastic (GFRP), allowed the Crosslane Coupé to weigh less than 1,390 kilos. Important, bearing in mind that this car can be considered the forerunner of a plug-in hybrid offensive that is now taking shape. Its 1.5 TFSI engine was combined with two electric motors, offering a system output of 177 CV and an average consumption of 1.1 l/100 km.

Audi Sport quattro concept (2013)

One of the Audi prototypes we would have liked to see become reality. It paid homage to the legendary Audi quattro, specifically the Sport quattro version. And it housed a whole technological arsenal: Matrix LED headlights, high-performance plug-in hybrid propulsion with a V8 TFSI engine and an electric motor to deliver 700 CV… in a second evolution presented the following year, the Audi Sport quattro laserlight, Audi combined Matrix LED headlights with laser light, which we saw shortly afterwards in series production for the first time in the Audi R8.

Audi RS 5 TDI concept (2014)

We can regard the Audi RS 5 TDI concept as the forerunner of the Mild Hybrid systems. Its 283 kW (385 CV) V6 TDI engine and 750 Nm of maximum torque combined two turbos and an electric compressor. To ensure the correct operation of the latter, Audi used a 48-volt electrical system. In 2016, the Audi SQ7 featured an engine with this dual-supercharged propulsion system.

Audi e-tron quattro concept (2015)

Probably one of the cars that has travelled the most around the world as a prototype before its launch. Logical: the Audi e-tron quattro was going to be Audi’s first 100% electric car, and everything had to be tied up very well. The concept car faithfully showed the line of what would be the production model, and by then it already promised an practically unattainable range… except for Tesla: more than 500 km, though in the NEDC cycle. It was also presented with an architecture we have not seen until the recent unveiling of the new S e-tron versions, with three electric motors, one on the front axle and two on the rear.

Audi Q8 concept (2017)

As well as making clear what the Audi Q8 would look like stylistically, Audi’s commitment to the segment of large sporty SUVs with coupé styling, the Q8 concept anticipated, exactly, the plug-in hybrid technology that we can enjoy today in the Q7 TFSIe: a V6 TFSI engine with an electric motor allowed the prototype to announce a power output of 445 CV and an electric-mode range of 60 km. Its head-up display with intelligent augmented-reality technology will not take long to reach the production Audi cars.

Prototypes now, production models very soon

So far, we have seen prototypes that previewed models or technologies that we can now see in the current Audi range on sale. But in the last two years, Audi has already shown several concept cars that preview future models not yet on the market.

This is the case of the Audi Audi e-tron GT concept of 2018, a four-door sports coupé that shares many technical elements with the Porsche Taycan. The concept is equipped with two electric motors that deliver a power output of 590 CV, and its 90 kWh battery capacity allows it to promise more than 400 km of range. We will soon see it in the brand’s electric car lineup, alongside the e-tron and e-tron Sportback.

The Audi Q4 e-tron concept will also join the electric range very soon. Or, more precisely, the production version of this prototype presented in 2019 on the MEB platform. A compact SUV that promises great doses of sportiness with its two electric motors generating 306 CV, and a range of over 450 km on the WLTP cycle, thanks to the 83 kWh battery.

More futuristic looking is the Audi AI:ME of 2019, although for us it is the perfect example of what the city car of the future for large cities could be like. It has a very compact size, with a body format that allows maximum use of interior space. Its 170 CV electric motor guarantees mobility within and outside the city, and it is equipped with autonomous driving. If it follows the same strategy we have seen with the rest of Audi’s concepts, we could see it on the streets of our cities sooner than we expect.