Audi has showcased one of its most ambitious projects to date, the Urbansphere, which promises to be a first-class lounge experience on fourwheels. The Urbansphere SUV concept is a part of Audi’s next-generation concept cars to showcase the future of autonomous mobility. 

The Audi Urbansphere is arguably the company’s biggest undertaking yet, and quite literally. The concept SUV is 500mm taller than Audi’s biggest SUV, the Q7. It also has a mammoth wheelbase of 2,994mm, which could give any limousine a run for its money. 

As far as design is concerned, the Audi Urbanspehere SUV sports a futuristic look with a rather large front grille, with two sleek LED lights sitting on top of them. A similar design can be spotted at the rear of the SUV as well. 

Despite its huge footprint, Audi claims the Urbansphere is designed keeping megacities in mind, specifically the Chinese market. The concept was a result of a partnership with the carmaker’s design studio in Beijing. 

The concept’s imposing stance is on purpose, as special attention has been paid to the space for passengers. You may have noticed the absence of a B-pillar in the concept SUV; this is to allow the seats to swivel outside for easy access. Welcoming you into the cabin is what Audi calls a “red carpet of light” that projects itself on the ground. 

Additionally, this yacht on wheels gets four individual seats that can be reclined up to 60 degrees. Not to mention, the front seats can also be turned around to face the rear passengers. Then there’s a transparent OLED screen that can be brought down from the roof between the front and the rear row. 

A rather odd and futuristic addition here is Audi’s stress detection technology; it detects the tone of voice and facial expressions to accurately predict the passenger’s feelings and suggests relaxing exercises. 

The Audi Urbansphere is claimed to be based on level 4 autonomous vehicle technology, which allows the car to drive by itself with minimal driver inputs. If you do decide to keep your hands off the steering though, the steering wheel, driver pedals and the dashboard can all be hidden away. 

It wouldn’t be a concept without some Jetson technology, would it? According to Audi, the Urbanspehere can also make a dinner reservation, do grocery shopping online or even pick the passenger up from their homes. 

Thanks to its size, the company was able to pack in a 120kWh battery pack between the axles, which can be charged from 5 to 85 percent in just 25 minutes. The total range on offer here is 750km, with 400hp of power and 690Nm of torque. Of course, Audi’s Quattro four-wheel-drive system is featured.

The Urbansphere concept follows Audi’s two other futuristic concepts: the Skysphere, a roadster, and the Grandsphere, a sedan described by the company as a  “private jet for the road.”