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Audi AI:CON Gets a Digital Makeover to Suit a Retiring Chancellor

Despite its dark past, Germany is presently the biggest economy in Europe, and one of the driving forces of the global one. Since 2005, the country’s reigns have been in the hands of Angela Merkel, one of the strongest political figures the world has ever known.
Audi AI:CON for Angela Merkel 1 photo
Photo: Bristol Street Motors
Having been at the top of the country’s decision-making process for the past 15 years, and having survived in office four presidents, the female politician is set to retire at the end of 2021.

Long before Merkel’s arrival, Germany began an ascension that places it at the top of the list of the automotive industry, and chances are this position will be held long after she leaves too. But unlike other European countries, Germany is yet to commit to a complete switch from ICE to electric power for cars – although the nation does have a target to get ten million electric vehicles on the road by the end of this decade.

That plan is fueled by the entrance of the country's top three auto groups, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and even BMW, into this game. But still, some have doubts such a plan is feasible.

Even so, sending Merkel off in style, inside an electric car, would be a a fitting goodbye to her legacy. For these purposes, renderers from Bristol Street Motors created a crossbreed between the Audi A8 and the AI-CON concept.

We are not given any details about it, other than it is bulletproof and has “exterior lighting that responds to and alerts other road users of a vehicle’s condition or maneuvers,” but we can imagine the thing retains the drivetrain that gives the car a range of some 800 km (497 miles), and a recharging time to 80 percent of 30 minutes.

As a touch of cool, the Audi wears a O:2 registration plate, second only to the “O:1 plate reserved for the president of Germany.”
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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