Audi announces release date for autonomous Sky Sphere

The past will shape the future, at least according to Audi regarding its newest concept vehicle, the Sky Sphere.

Initially teased earlier this month as one of its three concepts which will set the marque's design language for the future, the Sky Sphere has been given an official release date of August 11 – being unveiled at Audi's design studio in Malibu, California, before featuring at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

In a video posted to the German manufacturer's YouTube channel, Audi's Vice President, Henrik Wenders, and Head of Design, Marc Lichte, discuss the look of the Horch 853A and how the pre-World War II cabriolet ties in to the Sky Sphere.

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A glass panel in the front of Sky Sphere could offer Audi more design capabilities

Previous teaser images of the future model show a long-slung vehicle with a long bonnet – reflecting the design of the Horch which featured a straight-eight engine and offered a "king of the road feeling", according to Lichte.

The design chief says the Sky Sphere will be "on one hand, a real sports car and it can transform in only a few seconds into an autonomous lounge,” hinting at the possibility the vehicle will utilise Level 4 autonomous driving technology to take control away from the driver.

Wenders reflected on the period the Horch was born out of and how it translates to the present, saying "the Golden 20s and the following years, all the innovators, all the creators, all the inventors, all the designers – they were avant-garde at the time, the future shapers as we are" and the Sky Sphere will "redefine progressive luxury".

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Sky Sphere will be the first of the three concepts to make its public debut

After the Sky Sphere's release in August will come the Grand Sphere's reveal in September, with covers set to come off at the IAA Motor Show in Munich, although Audi has already provided a detailed look at the second concept vehicle.

The Sphere concepts are a part of Audi's wider move towards EVs as it ditches combustion engines, planning to only release electric models from 2026 onwards.