I, Robot Audi Lands Near Bel Air sans Will Smith
Audi RSQ Concept is part of Petersen Automotive Museum’s ‘Hollywood Dream Machines’ sci-fi & fantasy exhibit, through March 2020.
In 1950, sci-fi author Issac Asimov compiled a few short stories of his into a book titled I, Robot, dealing with the themes of robotics and free will. Audi, meanwhile, was digging itself out of the ruins of WWII, having moved to Ingolstadt when the Soviets cannibalized the remnants of the original company shortly after the end of the war.
A few decades later in 2004, a film with the same name (and not much else in common) brought Will Smith and Audi together in the form of Detective Del Spooner and the 2035 RSQ Concept. And though Smith isn’t hanging out with robots in Bel Air these days, you can see his Audi at the Petersen Automotive Museum’s newest exhibit, Hollywood Dream Machines: Vehicles of Science Fiction and Fantasy from now through March 2020.
The RSQ, designed by Julian Hönig, updates Audi’s design language from the early 2000s with futuristic elements like spherical tires and fully covered wheels, resulting in a car that has bits of the TT and the then-upcoming R8 mixed together in a shape draped in silver.
The RSQ was also designed as a marketing tool for Audi, having recently recovered from a long sales decline and resurrection following the 5000 unintended acceleration debacle. The concept helped the company gain more American fans in its I, Robot appearance, leading to more sales and an improved image.
If you’d like to get up and close to the Audi from I, Robert, a $16 adult ticket will get you in the door of the Petersen. And if you have children between 4 and 17, $11 will get them, as well.
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