Audi's Urbansphere car is a whopper

Audi introduced its Urbansphere concept car to Korea on Friday. [AUDI KOREA]

Audi introduced its Urbansphere concept electric vehicle (EV) Friday, which shows the German carmaker's vision for self-driving mobility.

It is the third concept car in Audi’s Sphere series, followed by Skysphere and Grandsphere, with a focus on space, tech and autonomous driving in a city.

Measuring 5,510 millimeters (217 inches) long, 2,010 millimeters wide and 1,780 millimeters tall, the Urbansphere is the largest car introduced by the company.

The minivan does not have a b-pillar and the doors are hinged in opposite directions. The four seats in the vehicle are able to rotate, allowing the driver and the passenger in the front row to face other passengers while in autonomous driving mode.

Urbansphere EV comes with Level 4 autonomy technology, which means it can run on its own under ordinary conditions. Human intervention is rarely required. Level 3 technology requires the driver to be present at all times in case an intervention request is made. A level 5 vehicle can manage all scenarios on its own, which is not technologically possible yet.

The vehicle will be capable of picking up passengers, parking and charging by itself, Audi Korea said.

The steering wheel and instrument panel will also fold into the dashboard during autonomous driving mode.

“The vehicle will be beyond simple transportation and become a premium space for those who are living in big cities like Seoul, where traffic is heavy,” said Park Young-jun, marketing communications director of Audi Korea, during a press event held at Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul Friday.

The spacious interior can turn into a lounge, a mobile office and even a moving theater, Audi Korea said.

Audi will show the concept car at an exhibition in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, along with five EVs and the A8 sedan.

The exhibition, which the company named House of Progress, will be held from Oct. 8 to 16. No reservations are needed.

“We are willing to showcase what Audi envisions as future mobility and how it could be connected to our advanced lifestyle,” said Lynn Lim, managing director of Audi Korea.

“Audi has set sustainability, digitalization, design and performance as the four main aspects for the change in future mobility, focusing on providing meaningful mobility experiences to customers.”

Audi said all its new vehicles will be purely electric starting in 2026.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]