Audi doesn’t want any more knobs

Audi has had enough of its knobs. It wants to get rid of them, buttons too, replacing them all with digital screens.

According to a report from Motor Authority, Audi’s design boss, Marc Lichte, wants to completely ditch buttons and knobs inside his cars, not that Audi’s new vehicles have many knobs these days anyway. Instead, he wants touchscreens and augmented reality displays.

It sounds cool and futuristic but we know from experience that getting rid of something like the volume knob can become a bit of a nuisance. Apparently, Lichte knows this and will provide another way to adjust the volume, but it won’t be the loathsome knob.

In Audi's upper-level offerings, the two screens currently residing in the middle of the dash will be merged into one large screen. The instrument cluster behind the wheel will slowly shrink and give way to the head-up display, which will presumably grow larger and more complex.

Lichte added that electric vehicles will change the way his team design exteriors as well. Think short overhangs and longer wheelbases. In about four years, he reckons Audi will begin to debut “big design changes” for its EVs, including extremely low ride heights in its non-SUV models.