Audi’s new design era began in typical and restrained style with the launch of the Audi Prologue Concept at the LA Motorshow. Audi’s Head of Design, Marc Lichte, believes the concept heralds a new phase in company’s philosophy  “Audi stands for sportiness, lightweight design and the quattro permanent all-wheel drive. In the Audi prologue, we are expressing this know-how in a new form – we have put the sportiest car in the luxury segment on wheels. Our team took new approaches in both exterior and interior design.” Car makers use concepts for a number of purposes, primarily to inform the public of a new design style although only a few elements will ever make it to the final production version. The other aspect of a concept is purely to generate publicity, if Audi did make this concept into a reality we would bury our-self’s up to the neck in sand. We know we will never have to. Clearly the concept is based on the Audi A5, and some of the design cues may seep its way down to the next generation A5. The Prologue concept is powered by a 4.0-litre TSFi engine which produces 605PS and 750Nm of power and can accelerate in a concept imagined 0-62mph time of 3.7 seconds and features all-wheel -steering which has a turning angle of 5 degrees. Those wide-flared wheel arches house 22-inch alloy wheels and the rear brake lights feature 3D glass which gives the impression the brakes lights are floating towards  the observer whenever they are activated. Far out dude. The interior is based on the Gran Turismo design and features a virtual cockpit, which is basically a high-resolution binnacle display with fancy graphics. The Prologue concept also features a five-link suspension with controlled damping, the system adjusts the firmness of the suspension and is able to modify the cars ground clearance. The braking system is comprised of carbon-fiber ceramic and the 20-inch front brake discs are gripped by six-piston fixed calipers. Don’t expect any of this technology to feature on future Audi’s its expensive and if it is offered it will be on a rather pricey options lists.