Audi Sphere Concepts: Three Sneak Peeks At The Future Of Luxury Travel

Over the past 16 months Audi has introduced three dramatic concept cars with the “sphere” name attached to them. Each vehicle represents a slightly different take on Audi’s vision of the not-too-distant future of personal transportation. That vision sees the interior as — in Audi’s words — “…the foundation for design and technology, turning the vehicle into a sphere, where the passengers can enjoy life and experiences while on the go…”

Audi has a long history of focusing on a vehicle’s interior. It could be argued the German luxury brand kicked off the modern era of advanced interior design with the first Audi TT in 1998, and it’s been an industry leader in cabin design ever since. Now the brand is marrying its established design prowess with the advanced capabilities of future vehicles, where increasing autonomous technology will eventually give occupants the option to be a driver or passenger, and change their mind on that role as quickly and easily as they change a radio station.

I was lucky enough to spend quality time with each of these Audi sphere concepts, the skysphere, grandsphere, and ubandsphere, while capturing the experience on video. I did more than just observe them. I sat in each concept while directly interacting with their advanced technology. Daniel Weissland, President of Audi of America, walked me through each vehicle’s specific design philosophy while discussing how these advanced concept cars will translate into production models in the coming years.

If you’re a fan of advanced technology, compelling design, or just automotive passion — even in a world powered by self-driving electric cars — Audi’s vision is encouraging. The company clearly wants to merge automotive enthusiasm with advanced technology. Those two concepts can be seen as contradictory, but Audi presents them as complimentary in these futuristic models. The sphere theme will continue when Audi introduces the activesphere concept in early 2023.