The Audi prologue allroad has made its world premiere at Auto Shanghai. The five-door show car with its raised body and tough stance provides a new emphasis in the conceptual Audi prologue family. Its operating concept enables digital interaction between driver and passengers; the plug-in hybrid drive impresses with 724 bhp, offering 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds, yet is capable of achieving up to 117mpg (NEDC) and just 56 grams CO2/km. As a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), the prologue allroad provides a blissful 33 mile electric range from its rear mounted 14.1kWh battery. Perhaps most interesting though, is an option to have inductive wireless charging, eliminating the need for unsightly cables to be plugged in to charge the vehicle.
Design
At 5.13 metres long with flared wheel arches, housing 22‑inch wheels, the Audi prologue allroad certainly looks purposeful and aggressively sporty.
Window capping strips include sensor surfaces for the door locks and the covers for the charging port and fuel tank are also electric.
Brushed aluminium crossbars on the front grille create a new variant of the Audi e-tron look, which could be adopted in future Audi e-tron cars. Headlights feature Matrix laser technology too and work be breaking down the light into into countless tiny pixels, which may then be distributed in whatever way they are needed.
Interior
Audi prologue allroad is the perfect car for everyday driving and recreation. Driver and passengers experience the spacious interior of the show car as a luxurious lounge. The continuous centre console and the front seats have been made to appear to float. The instrument panel features a strictly horizontal orientation. Its upper level is part of the wraparound – the arc encircling the cabin and the luggage compartment. A perforated trim panel covers the broad air vent and it retracts as soon as the air-conditioning is set higher.
Across its full width, the front of the instrument panel is designed to be a display surface which integrates three touch displays. The front passenger can configure infotainment options using a widescreen display, which is fully integrated into the instrument panel. They can swipe to send these to the right-hand driver display or to the Audi virtual cockpit future, located behind the steering wheel.
An additional driver display for climate control system, infotainment and text input are located on the centre console tunnel. Featuring innovative OLED technology with an extremely thin, flexible film, it displays brilliant, high-contrast images. When inactive, the display is in a flat retracted position, but as soon as the car is started, it moves up at an angle. Audi’s virtual cockpit consists of high-resolution displays and three semi-transparent mirrors to generate a ‘visual stage’ with three levels. Thanks to this staggered approach, information is apparently easier to grasp.
Innovation in the rear
Rear passengers in the Audi prologue allroad are treated to individual seats. They use an additional OLED display on the centre console to adjust the seats, climate control system and infotainment for their area or to exchange data with the driver. When the audio system is switched on, a sound spoiler moves out of the rear wheelhouse panellings. Two thin and slightly curved Audi tablets also use OLED displays and can be mounted in the backs of the front seats.
The “butler” – an innovative, intelligent software program – identifies the passengers as they get in 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 according to the owner’s preferences. The Easy Slot system in the centre console connects phones with the onboard infotainment system and charges them inductively.
Powerful efficiency
The 4.0 TFSI engine – a V8 with twin turbochargers – and the electric motor integrated into the eight-speed tiptronic produce 724 bhp of system power and 900 Nm (663.8 lb-ft) of system torque. Quattro all-wheel drive system ensures power is optimally used for every situation.
The front and wheel axles are lightweight, five-link constructions. The 20-inch brake discs are made of weight-saving carbon-fibre ceramic. The adaptive air suspension sport – an air suspension system with controlled damping – offers a wide range between extremely comfortable cruising and tight handling. The dynamic all-wheel steering combines a variable-ratio, dynamic steering unit with an additional steering unit for the rear wheels to harmoniously resolve the conflict between dynamic driving and stability.
Source; Audi
