Audi Prologue concept dives into the future of style and technology
The Prologue concept represents a sort of coming out party for Marc Lichte, who started his job as Audi design chief earlier this year. Lichte let Audi's past and present ferment in his creative mind before putting that mind to work on its future.
"When he moved to Audi, Marc Lichte launched a design offensive," explains Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi board member. "His clear philosophy and precise understanding of Audi DNA let him develop a design strategy that is opening up entirely new perspectives for us. It is progressive and highly emotional; it expresses the technological competence and quality claim of the brand perfectly. The Audi prologue is its first proponent – it is a 'signature car' for Audi."
We're not sure we give the affirmative nod to Lichte's classification of the Prologue as the "sportiest car in the luxury segment," but it definitely has a strong, sporty look. At 5.1 m (16.7 ft), the two-door is shorter than the current-generation A8, but it has the large, weighty presence of a flagship thanks to the extended flow of the powerful hood. That gently highlighted hood rests behind a strong, stretched hexagonal grille with squinting laser-matrix headlamps and recessed diamond-shaped air intakes at the flanks. In a lower front styling layer, left and right spoilers work with a larger central blade to tie the look into the world of motor sport.
Sometimes overlooked as a #3 in the German luxury car wars, Audi is making a determined push to get noticed. Over the past half-year alone, it's lapped the Hockenheim with a driverless car, discussed plans for introducing one of the market's first autonomous cars and shined lasers into the future. Now, it's provided a sneak peek at the future of its design in the form of the Prologue concept, and that future looks as bright as its laser headlights.
The Prologue's profile starts with its rear-pushed, near-fastback cabin, but Audi really brings it to life with a series of subtle styling points and add-ons below the belt-line. Taking inspiration from the Ur-quattro of the 1980s, the muscular shoulders above all four wheels are designed as a visual reminder of the quattro AWD at work on the other side of those 22s. A concave sculpting on the lower door ties into the front intakes, while the black apron provides a visual link with the front spoilers.
In a styling point taken from the world of yachting, the rear fascia is angled slightly forward, which adds to the car's fastback feel – save for the small plateau of the separated trunk lid, the roof dives straight down into the rear. A set of 3D LED taillights stretch clean across the entire width of the rear-end. The brake light is set deep in that lighting wingspan, and according to Audi's description, the design "makes the light appear to move towards the observer" during braking. Below the bumper, the large rear diffuser grabs the baton from the side aprons, making for a full lower-body aerodynamics wraparound. A pair of trapezoid-shaped exhaust tips are embedded in that diffuser.
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