Named the ‘R18 Ultra Chair’ – as a nod to the German company’s stellar record in long-distance racing – the design is an avant-garde project being shown at the 51st Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan.
Audi uses a variety of methods to test its designs from an ergonomic and structural standpoint. The R18 Ultra Chair prototype consists of three main components: a carbon composite seat, a carbon-rubber composite back rest, and aluminium alloy legs which can be compacted and transported in a lightweight flat-pack box.
![R18 Ultra Chair: Le Mans technology in the study](http://www.classicdriver.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_full/public/import/articlesv2/images/_de/7485/Audi_R18_Ultra_Chair_02pop.jpg?itok=GXvNzHID)
![R18 Ultra Chair: Le Mans technology in the study](http://www.classicdriver.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_half/public/import/articlesv2/images/_de/7485/Audi_R18_Ultra_Chair_03pop.jpg?itok=N8KkyBX1)
![R18 Ultra Chair: Le Mans technology in the study](http://www.classicdriver.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_half/public/import/articlesv2/images/_de/7485/Audi_R18_Ultra_Chair_04pop.jpg?itok=iAfFy84n)
In addition to regular computer-based technology from Audi, the pair have incorporated “crowd-sourced data acquired through thousands of testing sessions using advanced industrial sensors whose data is processed by custom algorithms to adjust the final geometry and construction of the end product accordingly.”
Whether the result is simply ‘comfy’, we shall have to wait and see. No plans have yet been made to put the chair into production.
Photos: Audi