Chrysler Unveils Airflow Concept
The Chrysler brand revealed today the Chrysler Airflow Concept at CES 2022, giving a glimpse at the leading-edge drive-system technology, fully connected customer experiences and advanced mobility features, wrapped in inspiring, dynamic design, which will fuel the Chrysler brand's future.
Chrysler also announced that the brand's transformation will include the launch of its first battery-electric vehicle (BEV) by 2025 and a future all-electric Chrysler vehicle lineup.
"The Chrysler Airflow Concept represents the future direction of the Chrysler brand, providing a peek at the dynamic design, advanced technologies and seamless connectivity that will characterize the full-electric portfolio we plan to reach by 2028," said Chris Feuell, Chrysler brand CEO - Stellantis. "Chrysler is an iconic American automotive brand, with a heritage in creating new advanced technologies and product segments. Our brand will serve at the forefront as Stellantis transforms to deliver clean mobility and connected customer experiences."
Through more than 96 years, the Chrysler brand has earned a reputation for innovative engineering, groundbreaking style and affordable luxury. One recent innovation, the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, the first and only plug-in hybrid minivan, served as a springboard to the brand's electrified future.
The new connected vehicle isn't simply about moving from point A to point B. The Chrysler Airflow Concept reinvents the customer experience by integrating the STLA Brain platform and STLA SmartCockpit to deliver seamless connectivity to transform the experience for driver and passengers. The concept creates a connected hub that brings a consumer's digital lifestyle into the vehicle, using advanced technology to create a customized space for each occupant.
"The Chrysler Airflow Concept represents the start of the brand's journey toward a fully electrified future. It is the result of a thoughtful synthesis of the full arsenal of Stellantis' connected vehicle technology – inside and out," said Ralph Gilles, chief design officer - Stellantis. "The design features a decisively elegant aerodynamic exterior and a modern, sophisticated interior that takes the customer on a new level of digital delight."
Seamless Connectivity Optimizing Customer Experiences
The Chrysler Airflow Concept is designed as a space to bring people together, both physically and virtually.
Enabled by STLA Brain and STLA SmartCockpit, the user experience in the Airflow Concept is agile, intuitive and always fresh. The interior showcases ideas for giving every passenger a personalized experience that seamlessly connects them with their digital lives, as well as the other passengers.
The Airflow Concept unifies these advanced technologies, communicating through advanced visualization and thoughtful interaction. The Airflow Concept user experience employs multi-layered, high-contrast graphics and thoughtful details to provide a clean, sophisticated appearance that is safe, easy to use and easy to understand.
Using a menu-based format, screens throughout the Airflow interior can be personalized, simplified and grouped based on individuals and interests. Information on the screens can be shared with all passengers by swiping. Customization and personalization are key, whether driving or acting as a co-pilot.
Each screen is a personalized space to access the digital world via connected entertainment, apps and downloads. Each seat also features a built-in camera, enabling occupants to participate in a group video conference call from the comfort of the Airflow cabin.
Over-the-air (OTA) updates keep Airflow Concept services current and let passengers quickly and easily add new and innovative features. That functionally keeps the vehicle fresh, exciting and capable, enhancing the overall ownership experience.
The backbone of the Airflow Concept user experience is the new electrical/electronic (E/E) and software architecture, STLA Brain. This architecture is highly flexible, breaking today's bond between hardware and software generations. It enables software developers to create and update features and services quickly, taking advantage of capabilities built into the cockpit without waiting for a new hardware launch.
The STLA SmartCockpit, demonstrated in the Airflow Concept and built on top of STLA Brain architecture, seamlessly integrates with the digital lives of vehicle occupants to deliver AI-based applications, such as navigation, voice assistance, e-commerce marketplace and payment services.
Fully Electrified + Fully Connected
Along with the fully connected ultimate user experience, the Chrysler Airflow Concept previews the brand's commitment to delivering a fully electric vehicle lineup by 2028, produced using clean manufacturing processes and made with recyclable and renewable materials. Through the use of industry-first technologies, the Chrysler brand will delight customers and influence the industry to make the world better, cleaner and safer.
The Chrysler Airflow Concept is equipped with STLA AutoDrive, which delivers Level 3 autonomous driving capabilities and will be upgradable via OTA updates.
The concept features all-wheel-drive capability and is powered by two 150 kW electric drive motors (EDMs), one in the front and one in the rear. The concept is designed to accommodate larger capacity EDMs, offering the potential for future high-performance applications. Drive motors are located toward the front and rear of the vehicle, maximizing interior space and enabling the large wheel size and wide stance of the Airflow Concept. The battery is designed to achieve between a 350- and 400-mile range on a single charge.
Dynamic Design Language
The sculptural, expressive design of the Chrysler Airflow Concept envisions the next generation of premium transportation and user experience. The concept reimagines how the driver and passengers interact with advanced technologies while delivering a first-class travel experience that balances technological needs within a serene environment.
The Airflow Concept features a dynamic design proportion, with a low ride height and streamlined, two-tone roof line that achieves an elegant yet athletic profile while increasing EV range. A long wheelbase and wide track, along with large 22-inch wheels and tires, are enhanced visually with Celestial Blue accent color cladding. The design elements work together to enable a dramatic stance and deliver excellent handling and performance dynamics.
The Airflow's silent electric ride harmoniously supports the sleek design aesthetic, with the concept's dramatic expression completed by an Arctic White body color that conveys a sense of calm and serenity. Up front, the Airflow announces its electric aesthetic with the Chrysler wing logo tied into a cross-car grille/light blade illuminated with crystal LED lighting. A crystal LED taillight runs the full width of the vehicle, accentuating the wide stance. The Airflow Concept features welcome, departure and animated lighting, including a unique aqua that signifies the vehicle is charging. The diffuser shape of the lower rear fascia highlights the aerodynamic, smooth underbody, a key to achieving optimum driving range.
The modern and spacious interior is also accented by a light and calming color palette, evoking an open, airy lounge area that delivers a comfortable space between home and work. The interior design is made to sooth and relax occupants, surrounding those inside with flowing lines that move throughout the space, creating a greater feeling of spaciousness and comfort. Technology is integrated seamlessly into the interior in the form of dark glass sculptures. The central control area integrates individualized climate controls near the C-shaped air slots. Crystalized textures throughout the vehicle add a sense of precision, providing an intricate transition from the exterior and aligning with the advanced interior design highlighted by premium refinement.
Redefined interior touchpoints support ideas of tranquil, serene comforting spaces and combine illusionary weightlessness and grounding metals to give the Airflow Concept a dynamic, dreamy design. Soft leather-wrapped seats help achieve a lighter, smoother atmosphere. Materials, including vegetable-tanned leather, as well as floor mats, fabric and carpeting made of recycled materials, imagine a future of sustainable design.
Infotainment screens appear as gloss black sculptures, seamlessly integrating technology within the overall interior composition. Seating uses a unique slim structure that rests on a pedestal base, enhancing comfort and roominess while allowing for maximum legroom, shoulder space and personal storage for each passenger.
Functional and ambient lighting helps the driver and passengers create a personalized inner sanctum, augmented by the Airflow Concept's panoramic roof that allows daylight to stream into the cabin. The ambient lighting reveals itself in direct lines, adding modernity, and indirectly through perforations in the upper door bolsters and a cascade of light spilling out from under the armrests in all four doors. The lighting syncs to the mood of the interior and changes based on the passengers' preferences and the content on the displays. Subtle design choices create an overall feeling of serenity with craftsman-like attention to detail in accent points, such as the perforation and embossed pattern on the seats, unifying the refined interior.
