The future is definitely pushing into the present and obviously physical buttons and buttons in cars, among other things, are left behind. However, like most motorists out there, touch-sensitive controls have always been a bane of ease of use and driving safety.
Fortunately, Audi believes in this notion and is committed to keeping physical dials and switches in its future electric cars. This was confirmed by Audi interior designer Maksymilian Nawka during the virtual unveiling of the Gransphere Concept, as reported by Australia’s Drive.
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“Audi was – and still is, but was perhaps even more so in the past – known for this joy of use, the haptic sensation when pushing and tilting. That is exactly what we wanted to bring back into the car, but combined with the hands-free interaction with the car, “said Nawka when asked about the presence of physical switches and dials in the automaker’s future electrified and self-driving cars.
A typical example: the Audi Grandsphere Concept. Although admittedly futuristic, the 710 hp electric grand tourer still has a physical button for air conditioning that is mounted on the door cards. The Grandsphere gives an outlook on Audi’s planned EV future in the form of a fully electric drive train, an extremely modern cabin and up to level 4 autonomous driving – if it ever goes into series production.
Interestingly enough, the Audi Skysphere seems to be missing these buttons and switches in favor of the touch control. On the other hand, with Nawka’s statement, we can expect that this will not be the case if this EV roadster ever becomes a production model. It is noteworthy that another Audi Sphere Concept is underway, which is expected to be a crossover.
The Audi Grandsphere Concept will celebrate its public premiere at the Munich Motor Show next week.
