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The Audi Skysphere electric concept car shifts from a spacious autonomous highway tourer to a tidy hands-on sports car.

Dan Carney

September 21, 2021

12 Slides

While the automotive market has shifted toward practical wagon-bodied SUV variants, nostalgia for gorgeous grand touring roadsters remains strong, and Audi has targeted that with its Skysphere electric concept car.

The car is designed to be flexible and adaptable. That means not only the ability to switch between manual-control driving and autonomous travel, but also the ability to adjust the car’s length by 10 inches to suit the situation.

While the low-slung roadster may not be suitable for many of us as daily transportation, Audi says that the car’s design represents a direction connection to the company’s future styling direction.

The Skysphere delivers on the traditional sports car value of speed, with 632 horsepower and 553 lb.-ft. torque that combine to accelerate the car to 60 mph in less than 4.0 seconds. An Audi video showing the Skysphere’s transformation hints that the acceleration time is quicker than the car’s transformation time.

“New technologies like electrification, digitalization, and autonomous driving gave us the opportunity to create an experience that goes way beyond the one that typical roadsters offer today,” said design project manager Gael Buzyn.

Click through our gallery to get a look at this amazing shapeshifter.

Related:The German Car Industry Showcases Impressive Green Mobility Tech at IAA Munich

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