Audi is making a huge impression at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show with the AI: Trail Concept SUV – and for good reason. The third in the series, the Audi AI: Trail—introduced at the 2019 Auto Shanghai show—is an autonomous city car aimed at megacities all over the world. It allows its passengers to stop worrying about the stop-and-go traffic that is inevitable in urban areas, offering them perfect connectivity and a comprehensive range of infotainment services, helping them to spend their time in the vehicle as usefully and as comfortably as possible.
The Exterior
The Audi AI: TRAIL has an exterior length of 4.15 meters and a width of 2.15 meters which speaks for its potential away from paved roads. It has massive 22-inch wheels with 850mm tires that make it a beast for impressive off-road capabilities. The vehicle’s body stands 34 cm above the ground allowing it to cut through the water more than half a meter deep.
The Windshield
The windshield of the vehicle was designed to wrap around like the cockpit of a helicopter. The extensive use of glass gives views of the front and sides of the vehicle. Nearly the entire roof is clear from the windshield to the rear spoiler. Audi AI: TRAIL Quattro rolls on tires that have sensors inside and can regulate their air pressure depending on needs. The concept also has drones that can fly in pairs to provide light when needed or come together in groups to light around the vehicle. Power is a combined 320 kilowatts and 1,000 Nm of torque.
Wackiest Feature
Perhaps the wackiest feature of the Audi AI: TRAIL is that it doesn’t feature such the 5202 led bulb low beam traditional headlights; instead it makes use of five, rotors drones fitted with matrix LED elements. The driver could have them docked on the roof rack or have them fly ahead of the vehicle and illuminate the road. The drones also feature cameras than can transmit the image to the smartphone display in front of the driver.
It’s become a tradition at auto shows for Audi to unveil a futuristic concept car. Back in 2017, the Audi Aicon concept debuted at Frankfurt showing Audi’s vision of a fully autonomous sports sedan. This was followed by the debut of the Audi PB18 e-Tron (now known as the AI: Race) at the 2018 Pebble Beach and the AI: I introduced at the 2019 Auto Shanghai show as an autonomous city car concept. All three concepts have gathered at the 2019 Frankfurt Auto Show alongside Audi’s latest wacky visionary car: the electric AI: Trail Quattro off-roader.
At the Frankfurt motor show, Audi took the wraps off the fourth in a series of electric concepts, this one aimed at off-roading in what appears to be a science-fiction film. As its name suggests, the concept has been designed to explore trails, so it doesn’t aim to dazzle the passengers with on-board infotainment screens. The focus is the outdoors and that’s why the concept features plenty of glass, allowing the passengers to take it all in while traveling with the help of quiet electric motors.
