A design with dynamic elegance and the latest high end technologies: The Audi prologue Avant show car with its stretched roof which the brand is presenting at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show gives a look into the future - with the new and emotion filled design language that Audi has initiated with its study in the coupé, the prologue.
Architecture and operation are united
The luxurious interior is kept in dark shades. Here as well, the show car offers a new experience: The straight‑lined architecture forms one whole with its display and control concept. The consistent front of the dashboard is composed of three touch displays. Moreover, the driver and up to three passengers can establish a digital communication via two OLED‑displays made from organic LEDs. The extremely slim, detachable OLED displays in the rear - a spin-off of the Audi tablet from the new Audi Q7 - provide passengers with on-demand information and entertainment.
Technology close to series production
The Audi prologue Avant uses technology which is close to series production. It is equipped with the plug‑in hybrid drive from the Audi Q7 e‑tron quattro which achieves even higher performance in the show car. 335 kW (455 hp) of system power output by the 3.0 TDI engine and the electric motor in combination make the car sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 5.1 seconds. The purely electric range is 54 kilometers (33.6 mi). The chassis is equipped with adaptive air suspension and the dynamic all‑wheel‑drive steering system - thus combining comfort, sportiness, handling and stability on a new performance level.
Wide and flat: the front
The Singleframe grille organically integrated into the car body dominates the show car's low front. It is positioned lower and is designed much wider than in current production models. Its cross ribs made from brushed aluminum present a new variant of the e-tron look, providing a closed visual appearance. Towards the sides, they are slightly bent and forked.
The headlamps underline the character of the show car - light-weight, dynamic and elegant. Shaped like wide, flat wedges, the headlamps are located with their tips above the Singleframe. They present the high-resolution Matrix Laser technology - the latest light innovation by Audi opens up new opportunities in design and technology. The light is decomposed into a high number of tiny pixels, resulting in virtually unlimited distribution possibilities.
The upper and side edges of the characteristic air inlets are accentuated using additional light guides which in combination with daytime driving light give the Audi prologue Avant a new light signature.
Elegant experience: the interior
The spacious interior of the Audi prologue Avant has the character of a luxurious lounge. Sinewy taut, calmly flowing lines and slender geometric bodies convey a feeling of expanse, lightness and tranquility. The long center console with its pass-through also appears to hover, as do the slender front seats, whose rails are mounted on the tunnel and side sills.
The instrument panel stretches horizontally from one side to the other, thus creating a wide impression in the interior. It lowers itself towards the driver and the co-driver on two levels. The upper level, like a roof, lies over the Audi virtual cockpit future and the wide air vents. It forms part of the wrap‑around encompassing the interior and luggage compartment like a horizon.
Comfort and entertainment in the rear provided by OLED technology
The rear passengers in the Audi prologue Avant use a flexible OLED display integrated in the center console which due to its bendable structure adapts its angle to the rear seat backrests' angle of inclination. Using this display, settings such as seat adjustment, climate control, audio/video and ambient values can be controlled in the back of the car. Moreover, passengers can exchange data with the driver. When inactive, the OLED display lies flat in the center console. As soon as rear passengers get into the car, it moves up at an angle. As with the OLED display in the front of the car, the curved display in the rear also ensures a constant and ergonomically ideal distance to the passenger's hand.
When the audio system is active, a sound spoiler moves out of the rear wheelhouse panelings, homogenously distributing music in the interior in high-end quality.
Another infotainment feature are the two Audi tablets - a further development of the Audi tablet in the new Audi Q7. These are mounted to the backrests of the front seats - also with OLED technology, and highly slender and slightly curved. The tablets can be unclipped and then be operated outside of the car.
From the moment of getting into the Audi prologue Avant, the driver and the passengers can experience first-class comfort. The "butler" - an innovative, intelligent software program - identifies them based on their smartphones and adjusts the seats and climate control system according to their preferences. The system also makes suggestions for music and route planning based on the owner's preferences. Cell phones can be placed in the two Easy Slot systems integrated in the center tunnel console. There they are linked up with the vehicle infotainment system and inductively charged.
Authentic: materials and colors
Colors and materials in the Audi prologue Avant emphasize the impression of comfort and sporty elegance. The upper instrument panel is colored in lifestyle blue, the bottom instrument panel, the seats and the carpet are designed in elegant sarder brown color.
In the interior, aluminum trim elements add powerful visual highlights. The spokes of the steering wheel, the frames of the driver displays, the door inserts and the mountings and switches of the seats are made from that material. On the wrap-around, the doors and the center tunnel console, they create a contrast with the panels out of open-pore, dark ash wood veneer.
Various surfaces such as the seats, dashboard and center tunnel console are upholstered with the very natural Unikat leather. A generously dimensioned strip of Alcantara leather leads the eyes from the door inserts over the armrests back and into the luggage compartment. Artfully designed perforations in the seat center line are evocative of the Singleframe grille bars.
Comfort and sport combined: the chassis
The chassis of the Audi prologue Avant is also packed with high-end series production technology. The adaptive air suspension sport - an air suspension system with controlled damping - offers a wide spread between smooth power transmission and tight handling. Front and rear axles are lightweight five‑arm wishbone constructions. The 20-inch brake disks are made from carbon fiber ceramics.
The dynamic all-wheel-drive steering system resolves the classic conflict between dynamic handling and stability. The system combines a dynamic transmission steering system on the front axle with an additional steering system for the rear wheels where an electric motor actuates two tie rods.
When the driver steers at low to moderate speeds, the rear wheels turn up to five degrees in the opposite direction of the front wheels. This gives the responsiveness of the car a further boost and reduces its turning circle. At higher speeds, the Audi prologue Avant handles swerving very calmly and with superior reliability: in such a manoeuvre, the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the front wheels.
