Exclusive Interview with Audi Chief Designer Marc Lichte: A Car for All Occasions (with Video and Biography)

At first glance, the strong contrast between the chassis and body of the activesphere catches the eye: an extremely elegant, flat fastback body sits atop an off-road chassis – both harmoniously combined. Without drawing attention to the fact that this vehicle can even be transformed into a pick-up when needed.

But the real highlight is revealed inside the concept car, where one sits airily – almost like in a gondola – and yet cozily like by the fireplace. An astonishing contrast enabled by the "Virtual Reality" theme, which Audi brings to new levels here – perhaps with the only small disadvantage being that you always need an AR (Augmented Reality) headset to fully recognize and utilize the activesphere's potential. This headset allows you to continue perceiving the real environment while also seeing digitally overlaid information – Audi thus speaks of "mixed reality."

Lichte arrives half an hour before the start of the presentation, walking around impatiently and with joyful anticipation around the latest concept from his team, which has once again been perfectly brought into functional reality.

An elegant fastback silhouette on large, chunky tires – how real is the activesphere concept?

Lichte (happy to finally get started and go into detail): “More real than one might think. First of all, one has to realize: there is no such car as an alternative to the premium hardcore off-road vehicles in the company yet.”

Why not yet? Are you planning something similar?

Lichte: “Oh, sorry, spoiler...actually, there is no corresponding product within our company to the relevant vehicles on the market. And since such extreme off-roaders are often second, third, or even x-number cars in many households, we asked ourselves how we could excite these people with just one vehicle. Especially in the USA, where people drive sports cars, sedans, vans, and SUVs, and also pick-ups. And of course, we wondered what such a vehicle would look like as an Audi.”

Elegant, in any case. To be honest, we could well imagine this being mass-produced in the not too distant future, right?

Lichte (smiling knowingly): “Let's put it this way – the spehre concepts are all much more relevant to series production than it might appear at first glance.”

We noticed that too: with the sphere concepts, there's no longer any classic notchback...

Lichte: “Because Audi is essentially a fastback and Avant brand! Meanwhile, the Coupés, together with the Avant models, are outperforming the classic notchbacks worldwide, even in the once notchback strongholds of China and the USA. And this plays perfectly into our hands, because the fastback models have had a tradition with us since the 100 Coupé, offering aerodynamic advantages and better hiding the greater height due to the batteries.”

But won't the batteries get progressively flatter?

Lichte: “Exactly! Here we will set new standards with the vehicles based on the PPE platform. And we are already utilizing this in the activesphere, which, relative to its overall height, has an extremely slim body. This is also achieved through the glazing in the lower door area, which creates a completely new sense of space. Without seeing all the conversion possibilities. Voilà!”

At the push of a button, the rear window slides upwards, the panel between the taillights lowers, and a semi-glazed bulkhead rises behind the rear seat, separating the cabin from the interior. At the rear, an open pickup bed with recesses and fold-out holders for bicycles replaces the elegant fastback. There’s even a ski rack that can be folded out from the roof.

Elegant conversion! And there we are, standing in front of a pickup.

Lichte: "Practical, isn’t it? In reality, one is likely to need this rather rarely; that’s why aerodynamics and elegance were the focus. Personally, I dislike roof rack systems and cargo boxes so much that I always try to take skis, sleds, or occasionally long items from the hardware store inside the car. But a rack system is, of course, practical, which is why we designed it to be retractable."

And where do you get the volume inside the roof area?

Lichte: “Full interior height is only needed above the heads. In the middle, we’ve installed a compartment like in an airplane, which includes the integrated roof rack. When it extends, it almost looks like the skis are floating above the car! But please, do take a seat!”

Lichte lets the electric doors open and hands over an AR headset. Indeed, the interior feels extremely airy, with no dashboard, just a flat box in front of the front footwell. One looks through the “single frame,” which is made of transparent glass, directly outside. It almost feels like sitting in a cable car, supported by the side doors glazed at the lower area.

All displays are visible virtually through the headset, which offers several views: one for the lower area, showing the most important info. Another for lower and upper areas, where less critical route and surrounding info appears below, while everything important for the current route is displayed above. To make “quattro” even more tangible, you can also view the front wheels along with the current drive torque or see on a virtual map where your friends are, the terrain, the weather, and more.

Impressive! Especially the airy feeling – yet one feels comfortable.

Lichte radiantly: “This involves some interesting aspects of psychological perception. One actually perceives an enclosed space whose end can be seen as cozy, subtly creating a feeling of security. Since you can see to the front end of the car in the activesphere, it gives exactly this impression. It feels more like sitting in a glass loft rather than a vehicle.

Especially as daylight comes in from above. And because the car is designed to be ‘open’ at the front and lower side areas – or better yet ‘transparent’ – it merges with the surroundings. In snow, almost everything around you is white; in the desert, you feel like you're surfing directly through the sand – creating a completely new spatial experience!”

A lot of glass and an interior with a washable rubber floor and clean lines. At first glance, it almost feels like public transport when entering. Yet, surprisingly, one feels remarkably comfortable and secure – how come?

Lichte: “We visually create warmth with the red upholstery, inspired by flowing lava. As the red fades upward, we create a link to the body, which is kept in a dark bluish gray inspired by natural stone. Additionally, there are wooden inlays as warm accents. Everything, of course, made from recycled materials.”

The displays through the headset fit perfectly, some even quoting the graphics of the original quattro – I see them only slightly blurry as I am already a glasses wearer.

Lichte: “Original quattro is correct! Delighted that such details are noticed! On the question of glasses wearers: visual impairments can be corrected in reality – also, the AR headset will become even more compact and lighter in the future, so we glasses wearers will hardly notice any difference. With it, the interior can be utilized in a completely different way. Try reaching to the left – you can store a virtual adjustment wheel there to place somewhere in the interior. A vehicle couldn’t be simpler or more intuitive to operate, could it?”

Indeed, the virtual world of the study goes far beyond what Nio and BMW have presented so far! But could you still drive yourself?

Lichte: "But of course. One moment, please!"

At the push of a button, a complete dashboard with a steering wheel unfolds from the "box" in the footwell. Taller drivers still have a "view slot" through which they can look at the road through the single frame. You should keep the AR glasses on, though, because the flat instrument unit only brings a few climate vents and the steering wheel. While a few instruments provide the driver with the most relevant information like speed and charge status, allowing them to move the car without AR glasses, there are considerably more easy-to-read additional info with the glasses, without disturbing the view of the road.

Lichte: "Now you could take the wheel yourself and enjoy an off-road course or a winding country road. As soon as you're back on a monotonous highway or stuck in rush-hour traffic, you can fold it all away again."

Ingenious but also quite complex to develop.