Audi's Skysphere concept changes wheelbase in 'Sport' mode

The roadster, which walks the line between autonomous tourer and driver-piloted corner-carver, gets previewed ahead of Pebble Beach

Matthew Guy

Aug 10, 2021 • August 13, 2021 • 4 minute read • Join the conversation

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Most drivers are familiar with the ubiquitous ‘Sport’ button which has invaded the dashboard of vehicles ranging from milquetoast crossovers; to machines with true sporting intentions. Many simply tweak the car’s throttle response and maybe – if you’re lucky – tighten the suspension a tad.

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Audi, always eager to display its German engineering prowess, has developed a concept vehicle that actually changes its shape on demand when the driver gets down to business.

It’s called the skysphere (yes, Audi spells it all lower-case, but we’ll be capitalizing it from here on in) and it’s a slinky two-door coupé with an impossibly long hood and fastback profile which tapers into a short rear deck. Josef Schloßmacher, speaking for Audi in a July preview of the car with Driving , explained the machine is a look to the future while examining new forms of mobility.

Ah, there’s the dreaded term. When automakers trot out the infernal ‘m’ word, it is generally followed by a soulless transportation pod with hands-off controls desired only by those in the population with mouths of meal.

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Not this time.

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While the Skysphere is a take on how Audi might approach a future filled with autonomous transportation options, this collab between the brand’s Malibu design studio and the crew in Ingolstadt keeps the driver firmly in mind. When in GT mode, it is intended to be a Level 4 autonomous vehicle, providing the type of sumptuous cabin experience for which Audi is well known. Cruising the Pacific Coast Highway would be high on its to-do list, with a soft roof packaged behind the seat, and a cargo area capable of swallowing two golf bags.

Its long wheelbase, creating a pleasing dash-to-axle ratio, would provide a comfortable ride and be something of a lounge on wheels. In autonomous Level 4 GT mode, no steering wheel or pedals are visible in the interior, as those items are hidden out of sight underneath the Skysphere’s dashboard.

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Here’s the trick. On your way back from the links, the Skysphere is able to hunker down in Sport mode and carve a few corners. A steering wheel motors out from under the dashboard like an athlete emerging from their training facility, and pedals deploy from a space formerly occupied by the driver’s foot rest. The entire vehicle – wheelbase and – shrinks 250 mm (nearly 10 inches) as the Skysphere retracts its nose back towards the driver. With the grille, and front wheels, almost a foot closer to the driver, Audi says the car’s dynamics are altered significantly, turning the machine from a luxury GT into a sports-minded back-road performer.

For perspective, the wheelbase shrinks from roughly that of an A8 L; to what’s found on an RS 5. Total length drops from 5.19 metres (17 ft) to 4.94 metres (16.2 ft). Double wishbone axles front and rear, plus rear-wheel steering and adaptive air suspension, make the most of this concept. Alert readers will notice the chevron styling feature ahead of Skysphere’s doors vanishes when in Sport mode. Electric motors and a sophisticated mechanism with body and frame components which slide into one another turn this trick, along with supporting cast members like a steer-by-wire system that is not mechanically connected to the front axle.

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This is a fascinating take on the potential future of transportation. Sure, the Skysphere is pure concept car, representing some loud dreams that don’t necessarily have to play within real-world the constraints of vehicle production. No one should expect a variable-wheelbase car in Audi showrooms later this year, for example. But the very fact Audi is thinking along these lines, using virtual technologies to unite its teams on opposite sides of the globe, and designing a machine such as the Skysphere puts an exclamation point on why Audi is often cited as an example of bleeding-edge technology.

Skysphere is all-electric, of course. It is powered by an electric motor positioned on the rear axle, good for 465 kilowatts (624 horsepower) and 750 Newton meters (553 lb-ft) of torque. In a roadster said to weigh just 1,800 kilograms (3,969 lbs) with a 40-60 front-rear weight split, acceleration from rest to 100 km/h should take just four seconds. The Skysphere’s battery modules are primarily positioned behind the cabin, with a few more between the seats in the centre tunnel, surely contributing to this weight distribution and providing a good centre of gravity. The battery’s capacity is expected to be more than 80 kWh, which Audi says could provide a range of more than 500 kilometers — at least in its more economical GT mode.

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While the car certainly isn’t a production vehicle in any sane sense of the term, suits at Audi did assert to us that its overall design language will translate to future cars from the brand. The grille, in particular, was pointed to as an interpretation of the current so-called ‘Singleframe’ maw which appears on all Audi vehicles in production. As an EV, the Skysphere requires no grille, so the space is covered in glass and peppered with lights. In time, the area could become a communications device for V2X technologies.

Audi says the styling of this concept drew from the Horch 853 convertible of yesteryear, an uber-luxurious conveyance from the ’30s. You can be sure Ingolstadt is watching Merc’s second-round efforts with the Maybach sub-brand very closely; rumours abound that Audi may do something simiar with Horch. As for the Skysphere concept, it will make its public debut on August 13, as part of Monterey Car Week, on the tony fairways of the Pebble Beach golf course.