Audi A6L E-Tron Concept - Important Step Towards Future Electric Mobility for Audi

[leaftye]

The funniest thing about this is that the ESX I led to... no products as did the ESX II and III. The only thing the PNGV actually did was scare the bejeezus out of Toyota which then led to the creation of the Prius.

The Prius came out at the same time, so I don't see the link. I also doubt that this concept car had any working technology under the hood, just like most other real concept cars. More than likely they followed in the footsteps of the Mach III and made this a hybrid technology concept to keep people from buying the Prius in hopes that Dodge would make one. Either way, they tested some styling cues that actually made it to production, which is why you show concept cars at auto shows...to test the waters.

[Shomegrown]

Audi has always shown very production ready concepts. And unlike most, they translate the concepts well to production.

Would you rather they make pie-in-the-sky concepts that never make it to production? Or if they do, they look like crap?

I'd bet Audi is one of the best in keeping production cars faithful to the concept cars.

R8 concept car



Q7 concept car



A7 concept car



TT concept car



A5/S5 concept car



Allroad concept car



They have also made concepts that are more out in left field styling wise...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Audi_study.JPG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Au...um_Beijing.JPG

[uncleho]

Dude MOST of those "concepts" are basically production intent/near finished mules that are detailed for show car duty. There are only about 3 'real' concepts in what you listed. So yeah... it's easy to say they are faithful to production because well... they are production... intent.

Don't get me wrong... car companies have varying definitions and philosophies about what concepts shown at shows should be for sure. And I personally am old enough that I HATE the wild and fantasy stuff as they are about impossible to build in any way. Anymore... I am impressed by those real concepts (not production intent) that actually show a designer's grasp of MFG & ASM, while pushing all limits within the realm of reality... not virtual reality.

Honda is like Audi in the sense you show IMHO. I wonder what it says about how the companies view the concept itself. I never thought about it until now, but when you think about it... it makes sense. It's not like Audi has a strong history of STYLING like say... the Detroiters. I think the teutonic school results in rarely showing really artistic renders/concepts. I think Bangle was the first to really take a German brand to a level of art that was basically the realm of the Americans. You can see MB and Audi delve into it now, too and I bet we will see more fanciful 'concepts' from them in the future.

[DZD]

How much longer is an A6L over an A6? - it looks the same to me.

For the grill haters - sorry - I love it.

Bring this over with the new BiTDI!

[Shomegrown]

Dude MOST of those "concepts" are basically production intent/near finished mules that are detailed for show car duty. There are only about 3 'real' concepts in what you listed. So yeah... it's easy to say they are faithful to production because well... they are production... intent.

Thats what I said.

Then again, look at the dates Audi showed those cars. It's several years before the car actually went in production.

Take the Q7, they showed that almost 10 years ago - and it's still in production (with refresh several years away) and demand is is high as ever. Other than icon cars that simply don't change (Jeep, 911, etc), that doesn't happen often.

Saying the styling isn't aggressive is a fair point, but it also holds up well over time. Better than most IMO.

[VR6 NRG]

Why is Audi taking almost no styling risks whatsoever?

they don't need to. with sales booming, why change a good thing? want all cars to look like the horrid new Lexus GS? i like their style just fine.

[MrKevkevL]

I'm in love with the new A6 inside and out

[BRealistic]

What a disaster. The grill gets worse and worse. I think they actually think that looks good.

Go on Audi, do what you reallllly want to do:

I lol'd...

but honestly.. think about it.

What is more environmentally friendly than recycling auto designs from eight years ago?

Just think of all the 5 dollar Starbucks coffees and pretentious catered luncheons that were saved, let alone the clove cigarettes.
Think of the cloves, man!

[c0mmon]

someone p chop thoose wheels on like a rabbit or something

[kimilein]

People still host **** on tripod?

[GTRaavv]

Audi has always shown very production ready concepts. And unlike most, they translate the concepts well to production.

I disagree that the Nuvolari was translated well into production. There are a lot of striking elements that got watered down.

[Air and water do mix]

lot of people commenting on my post

"The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright Brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown."

Carl Sagan

Which are you, genius?

[Hajduk]

Why is it that Audi is taking almost no styling risks in their concepts?

All these recent E-Tron concepts are the same - just current Audi designs with jazzed up lights, grills and wheels. The only one that was really new was the original E-Tron from 2010

[P-Body]

TIL:

When Honda releases concepts that are production ready save for a few Pep Boys pieces, they're lazy.
When Audi releases concepts that are production ready save for a few Pep Boys pieces, they're design darlings.

[Turbio!]

Because whatever they are doing is leading to record sales? Not every car needs to be over-styled to the point that it looks dated 2 years after launch.

Not every car needs to look dated at Job One, either. This does. That giant grille ages no better than any Hyundai or Ford.

[Hajduk]

Not every car needs to look dated at Job One, either. This does. That giant grille ages no better than any Hyundai or Ford.

This is just a concept meant to showcase the electric tech underneath - the body design won't go into production. Though some pieces may influence future Audis (let's hope not).

[Turbio!]

they don't need to. with sales booming, why change a good thing? want all cars to look like the horrid new Lexus GS? i like their style just fine.

Similar thinking is what got GM and Honda into trouble. Hey, we're selling a crapload, we don't have to exert any effort here! They'll buy whatever we crap out! Sorry, I don't buy it. If you're not continually evolving, you're well on the way to being dead meat, and that's the case in any business.

And it's a ridiculous assertion that the only alternative to total styling stasis and uniformity is the Lexus GS - which I, by the way, find to be no better looking than the A6. The TT and A5 stand as an example of what Audi can do when they're being creative and not jamming every model into the same mold. There is a happy balance between innovation and vulgarity.

[Air and water do mix]

All these recent E-Tron concepts are the same - just current Audi designs with jazzed up lights, grills and wheels. The only one that was really new was the original E-Tron from 2010

My guess is that the point is to imply that the technology is nearly production ready. Saying you have a new drive system and putting it in a car that looks like it belongs in "Logan's Run" (wait, you probably don't remember that one) I mean - "I-Robot" doesn't say the same thing at all.

"Look honey, we might get something like that in the future." is a lot better than, "Look honey, a pipe dream."