DRIVEN: Is Audi's New Prologue A9 Ready To Dominate The Luxury Market Or Just Another Pretty Face?

"Audi describes its new Prologue concept car as a rolling blueprint for its future model line-up under new design boss Marc Lichte."

The future is boring.

Yes. Very boring.

Looks like a Ford Taurus front fascia.

Autocar provides an extremely encouraging review of the exterior styling, interior technology and the driving dynamics. This is absolutely fantastic news for Audi and hints at a bright future ahead. Some excerpts below:

Regarding the exterior styling:

"Seconded from the Audi stand at the Los Angeles motor show, where it made its world premiere, the new Audi concept looks magnificent in the midday sun as it sits in the driveway of a Beverly Hills hotel – ready for us to climb aboard and take the wheel.

Distinguished by its wide single-frame grille, angular headlamps, taut surfacing, low and prominent shoulder line, subtle crease lines, traditional wheel arch flares and finely honed tail-lamp detailing, it is truly eye-catching, with a greater hint of athleticism to its lines that current Audi models. Yet despite the fresh design lineage, it is also unmistakably an Audi at first glance."


Regarding the interior:

The cabin is beautifully finished in a liberal covering of leather, brushed aluminium and fine wood veneer. After a short cockpit drill, I slide into a broad but supportive driver’s seat that includes every-which-way electric adjustment behind a neatly proportioned four-spoke, multi-function steering wheel that also adjusts electrically for rake and reach. The driving position is spot on.


The immaculate dashboard incorporates an instrument panel featuring a full-width OLED panel with three separate displays – something that not only provides it with high-tech appeal but also serves to accentuate its width. Audi’s idea is to enable simple digital interaction between the driver and front-seat passenger via swipe commands.

A fourth display includes a fascinating bending OLED panel, one of just 10 in existence right now, according to Audi. It's mounted at the base of the centre console. At the touch of a button, its trailing edge motors upwards to provide the driver with easy access to infotainment, climate control and a host of other functions – all just a hand’s length ahead of a stubby T-shaped gear selector. "

Regarding the driving dynamics:

But, wow, there’s encouraging feel and accurate action to the steering. Like many other aspects of the mechanical package used by the Prologue, the electro-mechanical system is taken directly from the S8. It is allied to the new rear steer mechanism that helps to provide the big coupé with an outstanding turning circle of just 8.5 metres – less than that of the significantly smaller A3, or so says Audi.

The Prologue may be a concept, but there is real substance to its low-speed manoeuvrability. Even at limited speeds, it possesses the makings of a very appealing production car. It steers in a direct manner, changes direction eagerly and corners in a flat and unperturbed way."

In summary:

"In a segment of the market known for convention, it would be a daring move. But I’m sure it would win Audi many admirers."

I'm an Audi admirer. I'm still looking for an Audi to admire. I like the R8, but not as an only car. The 2012 A5 has a sweet overall design, but in subsequent years, the headlights got weirder and the sheetmetal lost its appeal to me.

I think Audi has thru too many exterior design changes too fast. They had gotten to a point where just about every model in their lineup was kinda slick. Now, not so much. They are still excellent "street machines" but the exterior presentation seems to becoming comical.

I previously posted that the Prologue on display at the LA auto show did not have the hi-tech interior of the model at the concept's introduction. It seemed to have a dash lifted from a standard A6/A7.

Now I see where the "real" Prologue was - they took it to Bev Hills for press drives.

Surprised Audi selected the Beverly Hills Hotel to hold this event considering the ongoing boycott against that establishment due to its owner's disgusting beliefs.

(1) Audi will not dominate the American market any time soon if a lazy nothing of a design language is what that think is genius. In the USA they are embarrassingly a very distant third behind BMW and Mercedes.

(2) It's not a face for Audi when it looks like the 2017 Fusion.

@Matt - You say "you're in the industry". Does this make you an "authority" then on Audi/VW". I have family who work at Audi headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. I also have immediate family who work at BMW. Even with immediate family inside each company working for them, getting the family plan on any of those two brands, doesn't give me anymore of an edge than you. You talk too much crap that you really can't back up, and that's my "opinion"

MDarringer, I love how you make such wild judgments based on your personal opinion of Audi's design. You are forgetting that the Prologue is a concept car and not a production model. There will be changes to the design. Just because you think it looks like a Ford Fusion doesn't mean that other buyers will reach a similar conclusion and be turned off because of a resemblance to another vehicle.

Dweeb...this forum is 100% opinionated speech. I just dumped my ownership in a Porsche/Audi/VW store due to imploding sales at VW (profit killer), highly incentivized sales at Audi (profit killer), and unethical price gouging at Porsche. Factor in how trouble-prone all three brands are and the legion of angry customers was not worth it.

I'm in the industry. You're a teenage fanboy at heart.

Audi would need to double sales in NA to be in the zone with Mercedes/BMW.

Take your Fourth Reich mentality and...

Audi still has a higher profit margin than BMW and Mercedes-Benz even with the incentives. Your approach is so U.S.-centric (typical American mindset). What would Mercedes-Benz and BMW have to do in China to catch Audi? Yeah that's right double their sales.

Legion of angry customers? Yup that makes total sense and explains why Audi has set nearly 50 consecutive monthly records of increasing sales in the U.S. and is up double-digits year over year. The customers must be angry!!

Where is Audi in the U.S.? Way below BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Where is Audi globally? In second place right on BMW's heels.

Wake up! The world is not just the U.S.

Look at Europe and China. Who's #1 in those markets? Audi.

Audi is a highly regarded brand in the US no matter what others may think. Their sales have increased month to month for longer than I can remember. With a very nice line up, impeccable build quality, good reliability and a loyal customer base - I seriously doubt Audi is losing any sleep over their position in the US.

1) Recently Dingerger was proclaiming Audi couldn't catch Cadillac, how't that working?
2) The USA is not the world stage.
3) However, In the past couple of decades Audi has significantly increased its percentage of sales as compared to Mercedes and BMW in the US.
4) Dingerger continues to proclaim Audi needs to switch to rear drive to compete with the other Germans. What he doesn't seem to comprehend is that Audi, VWAG's premium line, is what it is because it is NOT MB/BMW.
5) A predictable bore.

The beauty is in eyes of the beholder. For ME it is boring not pretty. To dominate this segment they have to remove the King "S Class Coupe" which to me looks a lot better in and out. Audi is doing a good job but still behind the MB in Luxury for a long time,...and beside that, MB, BMW, and Porsche are not sleeping.

I suppose it is a reasonably good looking AUDI that has finally gotten rid of the cow catcher grill - and replaced it with the Aston/Ford grill instead (Hardly original) but - at best - it will still be an expensive paper weight that sells in low volumes - and has no meaningful effect on Audi sales overall. Audi does not sell large cars in big numbers - and I doubt this will change that - especially with the S class selling like hotcakes.

It cannot even do the job of a HALO car - since it sincerely does not LOOK the part. I have to question WHY Audi cannot differentiate their cars more - instead of making all the cars look like the cheapest one.

Ok, the front 3/4 is actually handsomely attractive. The rear 1/4 is a total disaster. I actually like the Volvo Coupe Concept better that was floating around a while back. Whatever happened with that?