When Audi revealed its show-stopping Prologue concept vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show last November, styling chief Marc Lichte suggested it was “a teaser for our next generation A6, A7 and A8” models.
Audi will be dropping still more hints of its future design direction next week when it pulls the wraps of the Prologue Avant concept during a news conference at the Geneva Motor Show. Not quite a wagon, clearly not a sedan, the distinctive five-door is intended to create a unique and dynamic new design form all its own.
“The Audi prologue Avant is progressive, emotion-filled and versatile,” said Audi tech chief Ulrich Hackenberg, in a statement. “With our show car for Geneva, we now translate the design language of the Audi prologue into a new, dynamic and stretched form. We are merging it with a concept of high variability.”
Up front, the show car adopts what Audi describes as an “organically integrated” version of its familiar Singleframe grille. It’s both lower and wider than what’s used on current models, with cross ribs of brushed aluminum intended to pick up on the cues first seen on Audi’s e-Tron models.
The car features wide, wedge-shaped headlamps using high-powered Matrix Laser technology that significantly boosts range over traditional lights. Audi introduced the use of LED daytime running lamps, something that has become almost a cliché in today’s designs. It hopes to take the lead again using additional light guides that accent the Prologue Avant’s air inlets to give the concept what it dubs “a new light signature.”
There’s just a hint of retro to the Prologue Avant which picks up on the wheel “blisters” of the Audi proto Quattro of the ‘80s. The side view features broad should and a series of sharp lines and creases that move away from the more rounded shapes Audi had adopted over the past decade.
The Prologue’s somewhat coupe-like roofline rolls off at a steep angle before flowing into an abbreviated deck. Distinctive LED wrap-around taillamps are highlighted by an LED accent strip. Wedge-shaped chrome frames surround the Prologue Avant concept’s exhaust pipes.
Inside, Audi says its goal was to design a rolling equivalent of a spacious “luxury lounge.” Finished in dark shades, it adopts a different sort of layout from recent Audi interiors, the dashboard featuring three separate touchscreen displays – creating what Audi calls the “virtual cockpit future.”
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And, apparently appealing to Millennials who’d rather text than talk, there’s a “digital communication” system linked to two advanced OLED displays in the rear. It’s an updated version of the Audi tablet system found on the recently updated Audi Q7.
The audio system features a so-called “sound spoiler” that pops out of the rear wheelhouse panels to distribute musing more evenly to all four occupants. There’s also a “butler,” an intelligent software program that can identify each passenger by recognizing their smartphones. It automatically adjusts their seats and climate settings, and it also can suggest music and route planning.
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On the powertrain front, the Audi Prologue shown in L.A. went with a 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V-8. It tweaked things for the techy Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, adopting a hybrid making a whopping 677 horsepower and 701 pound-feet of torque. For the Prologue Avant, Audi has opted to tap into the toolbox and borrow the Q7 e-Tron’s smaller turbodiesel, a 3.0-liter, twin-turbo V-6 TDI turning out 353 hp.
It’s paired with a 100-kW electric motor, both pumping out power through an eight-speed transmission. Together, the package makes 455 hp and 553 lb-ft. The plug-in hybrid also can deliver 33 miles in pure electric mode – a bit less if you’re making some aggressive launches. And you might be so tempted considering the Prologue Avant is said to launch from 0 to 100 kmh, (0 to 62 mph) in 5.1 seconds.
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With design chief Lichte already declaring that we’ll see the earlier Prologue four-door reappear in various forms, it’d be no surprise to see the Prologue Avant directly influence the next generation of Audi wagons, as well.
And the maker also broadly hints that we’ll see many of the technologies found in the Geneva concept car return in production form in the near future.
Audi is searching for direction but it’s unlikely to find it with these concept vehicles, IMO. If this is their new design direction I suspect that are in store for a lot of pushback from consumers.