The Urbansphere, a gigantic, completely automated people mover that nevertheless manages to be entirely too large for the streets it’s supposed to travel, brings Audi’s luxury concept vehicle triptych to a close.
The Urbansphere, according to Audi, was created “for use in traffic-congested Chinese megacities, but the concept is also applicable to any other metropolitan centre in the world.”
Despite this, the vehicle’s enormous size – its two feet longer than the Cadillac Escalade 2022 — effectively disqualifies it from being driven on any city street, regardless of origin. “The renderings’ minivan-like look is deceiving.” Based on the data provided by Audi, its minivan-like appearance in the drawings is deceiving.
The Urbansphere is “the largest model in the sphere family and of all Audi concept cars to date,” according to the carmaker. From a clinical aspect, the vehicle’s dimensions are impressive: 5.51 metres (18 feet) long, 2.01 metres (6.6 feet) broad, and 1.78 metres (5.8 feet) high.
Even the most hardened city inhabitant will break out in a cold sweat at the prospect of this land yacht guiding itself (of course, it’s an autonomous concept) through a densely populated pedestrian and bike environment.
Larger vehicles have been associated to an increase in injury and fatality in the United States, particularly in densely populated areas where vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists mix with cars, trucks, and buses.
According to recent studies, cities with higher rates of large vehicle expansion had higher rates of pedestrian fatalities. It’s difficult to say what Audi’s designers and engineers were thinking when they first drew up this concept with maximal dimensions in mind.
Naturally, we should believe the firm when it states the enormous interior “acts as a lounge on wheels and a mobile office, providing as a third living area during traffic.” Of course, traffic is an issue that appears to be getting worse as a result of the ever-increasing number of bloated SUVs and trucks clogging the roadways.
At its most basic level, traffic is a geometry problem: vehicles grow in size while roads remain roughly the same size. Congestion becomes an inevitable fact of life. Of course, traffic is an issue that appears to be getting worse as a result of the ever-increasing number of bloated SUVs and trucks clogging the roadways.
To read our blog on “Audi vehicles are now able to run on vegetable oil”, click here.
