(March 14, 2022) INGOLSTADT, Germany — Audi is the first automobile manufacturer in the world to bring virtual-reality entertainment from holoride into series production. Beginning this summer, back seat passengers can put on virtual reality glasses (VR glasses) and immerse themselves in various media formats including games, films and interactive content.

The main attraction — virtual content adapts to the driving movements of the car in real time. Starting with select vehicles produced beginning in June, Audi models with the latest upgrade of the modular infotainment toolkit (MIB 3) will be holoride-capable. The new technology will be introduced at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in the U.S. Visitors at the festival will be able to experience holoride in a moving vehicle.

In the future, passengers will be able to use their time on the way from point A to point B for a thrilling game experience. Passengers in the back seat of an Audi can experience films, video games and interactive content much more realistically using VR glasses. A car ride can become a multimodal gaming event.

The technology will be introduced at the South by Southwest (SXSW) music, film and tech festival in Austin, Texas, and visitors will be able to take drives in the back seats of fully electric Audi vehicles. holoride is closely associated with South by Southwest, and won the prestigious SXSW Pitch 2021 in the category of  Entertainment, Gaming & Content as well as the “Best in Show” award.

Holoride creates immersive experiences


Behind holoride there is a technology that adapts virtual content to the car’s driving movements in real time. For example, if the car is taking a right turn, the spaceship in the imaginary world will also fly to the right. If the car accelerates, the spaceship speeds up too. Initiated by Audi, development of this innovative VR or XR (extended reality) technology is being advanced and commercialized for different manufacturers.

With this approach, the Munich-based startup has established a completely new media category that they call “Elastic Content” — content that adapts to driving movements, journey time and driving route. The result is an immersive experience with a previously unknown level of quality.


Audi models that roll off the line with the third generation modular infotainment toolkit (MIB 3) and the latest software cluster will be holoride-capable. This means Audi A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, Audi Q5, Q7, Q8, Audi e-tron and Audi e-tron GT quattro. The Audi models mentioned will be capable of utilizing holoride in the European market, as well as in Canada, the United States, Japan and China.