Put Up or Shut Up Time for Audi

Audi is the best selling luxury brand outside of the United States but like everyone the brand is not without its faults. Known for creating elegant designs that very rarely have anything really wrong with them the biggest downside for Audi is that many find them cold, clinical and conservative. The flagship A8 is perhaps the biggest offender lacking the flair and in your face panache that many expect in its segment. Over the past few years Audi executives have promised a new Audi design direction throughout numerous interviews but so far there have been more changes of the aforementioned executives than actual change. Given the promises, Audi's upcoming A9 concept carries a heavy burden of expectations and responsibility to give people more of what they want. The four door coupe is an excellent starting point for a dramatic design and Audi should be smart enough to give the A9 plenty of length to work with to develop dramatic proportions. To differentiate the design Audi should give the A9 unique head and tail lights not seen on current Audis. To complement the design it would be great to see Audi throw away all reservations when it comes to the powertrain and turbo its W12 to over 650 horsepower though a hybrid 4.0T is much likelier for the concept. A great interior is a given from Audi and should be the cherry on top if everything else goes well. The promises have been made and it's now time for Audi to deliver, at least in concept form.