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(click pics for
hi-res)
The futuristic
Audi RSQ from 'i, ROBOT'
The futuristic
film car, known as the Audi RSQ, was presented to the public for
the first time at the 2004 New York International Automobile
Show. Tackling its most ambitious product placement project
ever, Audi created the RSQ concept specifically for the epic
event motion picture “I, ROBOT” which will be released by
Twentieth Century Fox in the U.S. on July 16, 2004.
Audi Design developed the spectacular vehicle, which helps
leading actor Will Smith - a homicide detective in the year 2035
- solve a mystery that could have grave consequences for the
human race.
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The interior of the RSQ features a steering wheel that folds out upon the
driver starting the ignition by means of a fingerprint scan. |
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In the near
future, technology and robots are a trusted part of everyday
life. In “I, ROBOT”, that trust is broken and one man, alone
against the system, sees it coming. The film employs spectacular
visual effects innovations beyond any ever put on screen, to
bring a world of robots to life. The film is directed by Alex
Proyas (Dark City, The Crow) and is set in a world created by
famed science fiction writer Isaac Asimov in his short story
collection “I, ROBOT“.
This is the first time that Audi has developed a car
specifically for a major Hollywood motion picture with the
company’s engineers creating a vehicle suitable for “I, ROBOT’s”
incredible world of 2035.
The resulting Audi RSQ sport coupe is a visionary interpretation
of Audi’s typical design language. Despite its extreme
character, one of the most important considerations was to
ensure the car would still be recognized as an Audi. The
cinema-goer will therefore see the new Audi front-end with the
typical single-frame grille.
The RSQ includes special features suggested by movie director
Alex Proyas. The mid-engine sports car operated by the story’s
police department, races through the Chicago of the future not
on wheels but on spheres. Its two doors are rear-hinged to the
C-posts of the body and open according to the butterfly
principle.
In addition to the RSQ concept car, Audi supplied further
volume-production cars which appear - in disguised shapes - in
the movie’s traffic scenes. Audi also supplied the interior
mock-up used for interior car scenes.
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Here's Will Smith (not a stunt man) with a disguised Audi behind. Did you
know that Futuristic guns double as cigarette lighters? |
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With this project
Audi opens up a new chapter in product placement. Previously,
the brand with the four rings has always supplied
volume-production cars to movie productions. In individual
cases, such as “Mission: Impossible II,” these cars were even
used in movies before their market launch. With “I, ROBOT” and
the systematic development of a “car of the future,” Audi goes
far beyond its previous product placement activities.
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Audi's RSQ has an unparalleled "power system," whatever the heck that means.
When it's not driven as intended, the honeycomb wheels fold into the body of the
vehicle (easier exit for the occupants). |
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Audi has been
participating as an automobile partner in major movie
productions for several years. In addition to John
Frankenheimer’s action classic “Ronin” with Jean Reno and Robert
de Niro (1998), the brand with the four rings played the
automobile lead in "The Insider" (1999) featuring Academy Award
Winner Russell Crowe, “Mission Impossible II” (starring Tom
Cruise, 2000), “The Mothman Prophecies” (starring Richard Gere,
2002), “About a Boy” (starring Hugh Grant, 2002) and Reese
Witherspoon’s “Legally Blond 2“ (2003).
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