I think I’ve made my position on front trunks (often referred to with the vulgarism “frunks”) quite clear here on the electromagnetic pages of The Autopian, but in case you’re unaware, my policy is vehemently pro-frunk. I’ve been driving cars with enclosed cargo storage at the front since my very first car, and let me tell you, the sensation of driving with your bags of stuff leading the way, crammed into the nose of your car is, dare I say, numinous. We’re currently in a new Golden Age of Frunks, largely thanks to the rise of electric cars, and for that I couldn’t be happier. This means that I respect any and all efforts to provide car owners with frunks, even if the results appear a little absurd.
Yes, maybe I’m referring to that picture up there of that tiny Audi frunk. But I want to be clear that while I acknowledge that that image looks a bit ridiculous, I nevertheless respect the hell out of what is going on there. You see, I have chastised carmakers, especially German ones, for being lazy about frunks, and not providing some sort of usable volume of space under the front hood when they clearly could have.
It looks like someone at Audi must agree with me:
The #AUDI E5 Sportback's front trunk…????
What can you do with this amount of volume? pic.twitter.com/FpBUvobk0V
— ChinaEV Home (@CNEVhome) May 7, 2025
I should be clear, this particular Audi is a bit different than the Audi-Audi we know here and that sports the old Auto-Union four-rings logo, symbolizing the four carmakers that started the Auto-Union, DKW, Horch, Wanderer, and, yes, Audi. The Audi shown here is a China-only marque, a joint venture between VW/Audi and China’s SAIC, and it’s the company’s all-EV sub-brand, and I just remembered that it’s supposed to be in all-caps. AUDI. I don’t feel like going back and changing all the other references to all-caps, though, sorry AUDI branding people. Just be happy I started doing it now.
Okay, back to the AUDI E5 Sportback’s frunk. The E5 is quite a striking-looking car, by the way, if you haven’t seen it:
Damn, that thing makes 764 horsepower from its two electric motors, and it has a three-scent fragrance diffuser! I wonder how much of that potential frunk volume is being taken up with reservoirs for the various stench-juices for that system?
As you can see, the E5 Sportback does have a lot of cargo room there in that, um, sportback. It’s a pretty big hatch area, but that doesn’t get a carmaker off the hook for a front trunk; consider the old ’60s NSU-Fiat Panorama, based on the rear-engined Fiat 500. This was a little wagon, similar to the Fiat 500 Giardiniera, with its little inline-twin laid flat under the rear floor to allow for both a rear cargo area, and, yes, a small but usable front trunk:
The designers and engineers had to fight for that bit of under-hood storage space, shoving that fuel tank over to the side, jamming the spare wheel into the nose, tucking brake and washer fluid bottles and fillers into whatever corners they could find, but, dammit, they did it. They fought for that space, and they clawed it back from the harsh realities of space-greedy automotive equipment, and gave it unto you, the owner.
That seems like exactly what AUDI’s designers and engineers did here; they hacked out whatever volume of space they could find under that hood, wrapped it in molded plastic, and gave it to you, the buyer or user or whatever of the car. Because that is what they should do. That volume of space is yours when you buy (or lease, steal, whatever) this car, and if you can’t use a volume of space in the car, that’s tantamount to theft! Why should you haul around some unneeded pocket of atmosphere you can’t utilize? What are, we, animals?
Besides, while that frunk volume looks pretty tiny, I bet it can still be used for something. There already looks like some sort of charging pouch in there in that picture, I think? It seems at least, what, six or so inches deep? Maybe deeper? I bet you could fill that with, like 25 tacos, easy. Maybe more!
Other carmakers offer similarly diminutive frunks; have you seen the frunk in the Dodge Challenger Daytona?
That’s not much bigger, and that one is optional, too! It only comes as part of a $5,000 package! But you can definitely shove some charging cables in there and maybe a hoagie and a big loofa and a Rubik’s Cube or other essentials like that.
The point is, AUDI did the right thing here! I know this, because if they had left any unused volume of space, people would have done what they could to reclaim it. I say this because people are already doing just that, for many EVs where under-hood space was denied them, cruelly. Look at this video showing the installation of a kit to give a Fiat 500EV a frunk:
People want their storage, and they have a right to it. So, when I see this modest but proud AUDI frunk, what I feel is respect and satisfaction. The very existence of this small, usable volume of space means that at some point in this car’s design and production, someone was looking out for the needs and wants of the people. And I don’t care how many smug people may choose to roll their eyes at these little frunks, because they just don’t get it. Space is space, and space in your car is yours to do with as you please, and this is a fundamental right of being a human, as much as the right to pick one’s nose or the right to smell one’s own crevasses.
Good work, all-caps AUDI. I appreciate the effort.
I long for a lower case audi
That’s a compliance frunk if I ever saw one. I can imagine that meeting: “There, you wanted a frunk? Take your damn drunk!”
You want it? You got it!
Here’s your freakin’ frunk!
-Bowling For Soup (maybe)
“But you can definitely shove some charging cables in there and maybe a hoagie”
Are you from the North East? Who else would need charging cables and a hoagie?
Maybe a grinder and a grinder?
I don’t give them credit for doing the bare minimum, mediocrity from a premium brand is not commendable. You don’t even get an especially nice looking vehicle for your troubles; the design is very “generic EV CUV” for me.
Soft tacos, maybe. Crunchy? 12, 15 tops.
The Dodge one looks big enough that you could probably fit your charging cables and maybe an infant or two. Is the AUDI even deep enough to keep a spare bottle of washer fluid?
I absolutely never heard the word ‘numinous’ before and I love it. Thanks Jason! 😀
This AUDI (‽) is the sauce packet for the chicken nuggets (or shrimp) in the Mach-E.
If frunks turn you on then check out Patent US20190351950A1.
The Bollinger pass through frunk.
I really liked their B1
One of the coolest features of an interesting vehicle. Too bad it didn’t come to pass.
I wonder whether there’s any correlation between that model’s cancellation and the initial press for the Ineos Grenadier.
(Side note, the Grenadier was in at least three places at the NY auto show, possibly four. What’s up with that?)
My understanding is so far it’s been a tough sell, so they are putting a lot of effort into marketing it.
Looks like maybe room for $1,250,000 in hundred dollar bills. Seems more than adequate to me.
that frunk-lid/hood/bonnet looks to be about ten times bigger than it needs to be for access to frunk storage.
Given your history, wouldn’t shrimp be the best Autopian metric for measuring the size of frunks?
Bonus points for any automaker that includes a built in vessel for cocktail sauce!
It’s in the nose of the vehicle. It must be called the nunk I tell you!
If that doesn’t work then codpiece will do.
I’m not sure that a 25 taco capacity is going to cover what I need for my dragon friends.
Audi finally gives up that ugly grille that looks like a pubic haircut
The Ford Mach E can hold enough shrimp for a group. The AUDI is only holding a single serving size. Nothing competes with The Autopian Shrimpbarrow, though.
It’s about exclusivity.
The number of tacos it can hold should be the new gold standard.
If I owned a Taco Bell, I would 100% sign up to be the source store. Maybe do this on the Galpin lot with some Lambos in the pictures in the background.
Then drive around giving the tacos to the homeless.
https://frinkiac.com/video/S07E15/R6_tILPq9wa2keJpXr1XTRF9hjw=.gif
Girls hit your hallelujah (Woo)
Girls hit your hallelujah (Woo)
Girls hit your hallelujah (Woo)
‘Cause usable frunk gon’ give it to you (Woo)
‘Cause usable frunk gon’ give it to you
Saturday night and we in the spot
Don’t believe me, just watch, come on
This is a good looking car IMO, much better than the mainline audis
I was thinking the same. This is the first Audi in at least 10 years where I’ve actually liked the styling.
Bring in ‘da Noise, bring in ‘da Frunk!
It’s big enough to hold a charging cable in a space that’s always accessible, instead of being stuck under any cargo in the trunk. That’s all it needs to be, everything else is a bonus.
Optional is the way to go. I wouldn’t pay extra for that and would rather not pay the cost in the purchase price if it were standard.
While I’m at it… remove any cosmetic engine compartment crap. I’m ok if it is functional (sound deadening or something). Otherwise it’s just price bloat. The hood is already designed to cover and hide that stuff.
I’d prefer it was on subscription so I could try it out and if it wasn’t worth it I could just cancel.
“While I’m at it… remove any cosmetic engine compartment crap… The hood is already designed to cover and hide that stuff.”
Exactly. It is driving around useless 10 or 15 kilos of plastic. I wonder what is below that plastic molding. 200 liters of brake fluid and 400 liters of washer fluid?
Modern LED turn signals consume a lot of blinker fluid.
Not sure why the Germans seem to hate frunks so much all the time with the rear engined VWs? Some of the Mercedes and BMWs they don’t want you to even open the hood where a fronk could be.
What’s worse is that BMW is fully capable of building a frunk.
My old e46 had a sealed compartment underhood, probably 1 cubic foot. Mine was filled with bottles of oil and coolant that the car leaked on a weekly basis. But you could have put other things in there. Hot dog buns. Board games. You name it.
Oh yeah those were useful for all the fluids you needed at every fill up. I remember some guys putting detailing stuff in them when they were new. Probably some nonsense about seeing a hood up or something
As someone frequently having to decide between hot dog buns and board games, I appreciate your inclusive metrics of volume.
The Isetta was all frunk, and nothing but the frunk.
Cue George and Bootsy.
Ow, we want the frunk!
Give up the frunk!
Ow, we want the frunk!
We gotta have the frunk!
La la la la la…
I love Parliament-Frunkadelic!
We need to coin a new term for these in-name-only frunks. Frook, frimple, or frubby (from nook, dimple or cubby) are quality candidates.
Frimple gets my vote for that pimple of a frunk.
Get the frunk outta here with that audi, with deservedly lower case letters.
Fun fact…. The terms upper case and lower case come from the old printing press with individual letters. The Capital letters were kept in a case (really a tray or shelf) above the smaller letters
Somewhere among the detritus, I mean precious collections, I have some type sets, even a cool dragon block, yet somehow did not know that. Thanks, continuous learning keeps the noggin kloggin.
A couple years ago, I visited the printing press museum near Long Beach, California. Apparently it was a printing press dealership, and every time the customers upgraded the owner just kept the old press. And collected more. I highly recommend it if you’re into mechanical type things. They even have a replica Guttenberg which they will run off replicas of Bible passages. (I’m not into the Bible. It was still really neat.)
“keeps the noggin kloggin”
Two snaps up for that one.