Audi Prologue Concept: Ingolstadt’s New Design Language

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Marc Lichte, Audi's new design chief, has given the Prologue an entirely new face, quite unlike any Audi before. Aren't the sleek, wedge-shaped laser headlamps outstanding? The trapezoidal grille or Singleframe has grown along its length, with a refreshed wider and lower look. The four rings still occupy pride of position, but are integrated into the architecture of the car now. The air intakes sit recessed into sloped fender fins, and a handsomely contoured lower blade with glossy black spoilers sends the sporty message home.

The side view also shows off the confident, new design language with increased sculpting lending the car plenty of personality. Lichte has made sure the car is instantly recognisable as an Audi though, with its carved-out-of-a-single-block looks. The forward slope of the rear has apparently been inspired by yachts to provide motion to the design, while the huge 22-inch wheels nicely fill out the flared Quattro-inspired shoulders of the wheel arches.

A lot of manufacturers often create great looking front and side profiles, but run out of ideas for the rear, ending up with a disjointed product. But that hasn't happened with the Prologue. The rear section, while being entirely fresh-looking, harmoniously blends in with the rest of the concept's lines. Those LED taillamps that run across the entire width give you goosebumps, and the unique diffuser element is stunning. It's all restraint and class here, in a manner that only the Germans can conceive.

What about the interior then? As you can see, it's all spanking new with nothing carried over from current Audi cars. The clean design sees display surfaces and controls integrated into the centre tunnel and instrument panel. The driver and passenger are recognised (and welcomed) by what Audi call the "butler"-an intelligent software program that recognises occupants through their smartphones and adjusts the climate control and seating positions accordingly. The front passenger can also decide a route through the sat-nav and swipe it across to the driver through the infotainment system that allows a ‘dialog' between them.

So it looks like Audi is all set to enter their next phase of design ideology, and elements from the Prologue concept will no doubt trickle down to future Audi models. Whether this car will be put into production is still a question mark, but Audi fans should be satisfied with this styling progression. If upcoming Audis are going to look this appealing, it looks like good times ahead for the much-respected premium car manufacturer.