Audi unveiled the fourth and final member of its Sphere-branded series of concept cars, and the design study is unlike anything we’ve seen before. Called ActiveSphere, it’s an electric luxury sedan with a generous amount of ground clearance that can turn into a pickup truck.
Previous Next 1 of 17 The sleek look hides a cool party trick. Instead of fitting the ActiveSphere with a hatch or a trunk lid, Audi developed a two-piece opening that consists of a glass panel that slides up and a tailgate that pivots down. This system gives the concept a small cargo box capable of carrying the kind of muddy gear you wouldn’t want to put in a standard luxury car, like a mountain bike. There’s also a ski rack integrated into the roof.
Audi built the ActiveSphere concept on the modular PPE architecture it’s developing jointly with sister company Porsche. Power comes from a pair of electric motors that draw electricity from a 100-kilowatt-hours lithium-ion battery pack to zap the four wheels with about 435 horsepower and 531 pound-feet of torque. The drivetrain is compatible with 800-kilowatt fast-charging technology, and Audi claims charging the battery pack from 5% to 80% takes under 25 minutes.