Audi Elaine - Ultimate Luxury Cars Australia

Audi Elaine

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Audi Elaine

With Audi introducing cars like the Audi Aicon, it’s pretty easy to assume that in the near future we’ll find ourselves without even having the option to take the wheel and drive on our own. Then again, with the sheer number of traffic-related fatalities each year, one could really question if we should be allowed to the freedom to drive anyway, but we’ll leave that conversation for another time. Instead, let’s look at the future of sports cars, better known as the Audi Elaine – an all-electric sports car that can drive itself but also has a wheel and pedals for guys like me who like to really get into those corners from time to time. What we’re talking about here is a muscular “SUV Coupe” that sits somewhere close to the Audi A7 in the lineup and features an all-electric drive that’s good for a 4.5-second sprint to 62 mph, a range of at least 300 miles, and it even features autonomous technology with cutting-edge processing power and comfort.

When you combine this vehicle’s capabilities along with Audi Ai, and Audi Ai Zone, you get the best of both worlds. You’ll be able to drive yourself when you wish, let the AI take over on a whim, and even get door-to-door service thanks to the car’s ability to find a parking garage or place on the street to park itself. Audi envisions a time when the car will be able to drive itself to an advanced parking garage where it can charge itself, pick up packages, and even get a good washing before finding a place to rest. At 5 O’clock when it’s time to get out of work, you’ll walk out the doors and find your Elaine waiting to take you home. Suddenly, the future doesn’t seem so bad, does it? Well, let’s take a better look at the Elaine and see what the car is all about.

 

Exterior

2017 Audi Elaine - image 731344

If this exterior design looks somewhat familiar, that’s because you’ve already seen a lot of the same DNA on the Audi e-Tron Sportback when it was presented back at the Shanghai Auto Show. Be that as it may, this thing still looks just as beautiful sporting a new badge. And, now that it has an official name like “Elaine” there’s a hint that this could eventually transition into a production model quite easily in the future. Maybe not with quite so much tech, but we’ll see what happens.

“The unique LED matrix in the front and rear provides exceptional and high-quality lighting”

With that in mind, there isn’t much new about the exterior to really talk about. The Elaine features the same hood, LED exterior lights, and muscular body lines on the side profile. The unique LED matrix in the front and rear provides exceptional and high-quality lighting. The same 23-inch wheels carry over with just the right about of rubber, while the size of the body positions the car in the same segment as the Audi A7.

2017 Audi Elaine - image 731352
2017 Audi Elaine - image 731357
Length: 16.1 feet
Width: 6.5 feet
Height: 5.0 feet
Wheelbase: 9.6 feet

With this in mind, I would classify this thing as more of a muscular gran coupe than an “SUV coupe” as Audi has, but I think the brand is trying to play into the whole SUV craze while still bringing about something that sits much closer to the ground. So, let’s not beat around this bush. This is an electric sports sedan, not an SUV, but if it makes you feel better, go with Audi’s terminology. The plus side to all of this is that the exterior isn’t all that wild or far-fetched, and the LED technology is functional, so a production model could turn out to look just like this concept, and that’s a very good thing indeed.

Interior

2017 Audi Elaine - image 731356
“On the inside, the Elaine is a combination of futuristic and modern that blurs the lines a bit between reality and what is to come”

On the inside, the Elaine is a combination of futuristic and modern that blurs the lines a bit between reality and what is to come. Packed with high-end tech like the PIA assistant, the Elaine is able to combine data from the driver as well as information from outside sources, including the internet to help determine the best and most efficient routes. By the use of machine and AI learning, the PIA system learns about the driver and helps to manage things like navigation (suggested destinations based on your history) selection of music based on your demeanor and mood, climate control, and even parking location selection. All of this data is stored in the Audi cloud via your myAudi account, so I hope you don’t have too many privacy concerns. Of course, Audi says you can log in and delete or edit the data as you wish but it’s still not very appealing if you’re a privacy nut. On the plus side, any Audi vehicle with the PIA system will be able to recognize you upon entry and load your specific profile, so that’s a pretty cool feature if you ask me.

2015 Audi E-Tron Quattro Concept - image 646022
Audi e-Tron Quattro Concept interior
“As far as interior aesthetics go, the Elaine is actually a bit more attractive than the e-Tron Quattro Concept”

As far as interior aesthetics go, the Elaine is actually a bit more attractive than the e-Tron Quattro Concept (we didn’t get to see the interior of the Sportback.) While it takes a similar design styling, it’s also much closer to what you would expect to see in a production vehicle. The large infotainment display carries over, as does the digital HVAC controller, but the instrument cluster takes on a slightly different shape with the ends angled down just a bit. The instrument cluster also features a green color scheme (this may be customizable) while the letting on the infotainment screen appears red in the images we have here. Compared to the Quattro concept, the touchpad controller is moved further forward while the HVAC controller is angled more toward the driver and sits a bit higher – just like the infotainment display.

2017 Audi Elaine - image 731531

The center console as a dip in the center providing a small opening below the armrest but is still void of any cup holder. For a car as sporty as this one, it’s also surprising to see how bland and unsupportive the seat cushions are as well. There’s almost no side support. The armrests, various parts of the door panels, the carpeting, and the side panels of the center console are all black Alcantara, so there’s a bit of an elegant touch here. The steering wheel is about as sporty as it gets. It’s a three-spoke unit with the side spokes positioned precisely at 3- and 9 O’clock while the lower spoke splits off into two spokes at the hub and comes together as one piece at the bottom of the wheel. The top and bottom of the wheel are flat while the inside of the brim gives the steering wheel a hexagonal shape. The gloss black trim on the inside of the brim is a nice touch as well, and blends in nicely with the rest of the trim inserts throughout the cabin. All told, it’s an attractive interior, and I would love to see something like this in production someday. Here’s to hoping.

Drivetrain

2017 Audi e-tron Sportback Concept - image 714011

The same drivetrain that is found under the metal of the e-Tron Sportback Concept carries over to this beauty as well. That means the floor is lined with a 95-kWh battery that is enough to deliver around 310 miles of range on the NEDC scale and can be charged via a wired connection as high as 150 kW or through Audi’s wireless charging system. Three motors total, one at the front axle and two at the rear provide Audi’s Quattro AWD functionality at its finest. Total system output is 320 kW or about 429 horsepower, so we’re talking about some serious oomph from this electric sports beast. Unfortunately, we don’t have torque figures to go by, but you can imagine the number is probably ridiculous, and if you go into boost mode, those 429 ponies jump up to 496 ponies for a short period of time. Of course, that’ll cost you a bit of range, but it’ll be fun to show that Tesla Model S what’s up, right?

“Total system output is 320 kW or about 429 horsepower, so we’re talking about some serious oomph from this electric sports beast.”

As far as performance goes, top speed remains a mystery, but I’m sure Audi would cap it off at 155 mph like every other German automaker. It does claim that it can hit 62 mph in 4.5 seconds, so we’re talking about a pretty fast sprint down the straightaway. And, since it’s all-electric, the chances are that the right option of menu selections will let you temporarily disable the front motor so that you can play a little bit in RWD. Well, we certainly hope so anyway. With a new-gen AI processor built into the vehicle, the Elaine is also capable of autonomous highway piloting, which means it can maintain its own lane, change lanes, and adapt to traffic at speeds between 37.3 and 80.8 mph. Meanwhile, you can take control at any time, so you don’t have to worry about AI trying to kill you just yet.

For now, that’s all we know about the drivetrain, and it’s not really anything new form the last time Audi debuted this setup in the e-Tron Sportback Concept, but if this thing does find its way into production, I’m sure we’ll get to hear all about the specs we care so much about.

Conclusion

2017 Audi Elaine - image 731348

Normally, I have to bash manufacturers for taking a few too many liberties in their futuristic concepts, bringing forth make-believe technologies or reaching just too far beyond the realm of possibility. But, in the case of the Elaine – and even the Aicon, for that matter – Audi is bringing about a future vision that isn’t only possible but highly feasible in just a matter of years. Sure it may take more than a few years to get all of the car-to-X and car-to-car networking to operate properly, but outside of that connectivity, everything else you see in the concept, including the electric drive, and all of the other technology could, in theory, go into production tomorrow as long as Audi could prove that it was reliable enough to justify doing so.

Source: topspeed.com

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