New concepts from Audi are debuting next week.
With the Frankfurt Motor Show fast approaching and rules for autonomous cars reaching milestones, it’s a perfect time for Audi show off its leadership in the world of self-driving cars.
As such, Audi is bringing three autonomous cars, each more autonomous than the last, to the show floor next week.
The first is the brand new A8, which we have seen before. This model is the world’s first volume-produced level 3 autonomous car thanks to a system that Audi calls AI traffic jam pilot. The system allows the car to take over at speeds of up to 60 km/h (37 mph) on divided highways. The driver must still be ready to take over driving duties, but is not required to constantly keep a hand on the steering wheel, as in other cars on the market.
2017 Frankfurt Motor Show Coverage
Audi is also bringing an SUV Coupe concept based on the e-tron Sportback concept that features level 4 autonomous drive. This one features something that Audi calls highway pilot that allows the car to take over at speeds of up to 130 km/h (80 mph) and automatically change lanes thanks to its clever use of car-to-x technology. The tech allows the concept to talk to infrastructure and other cars to receive information about driving conditions, road closures, traffic and more.
Finally, Audi will bring a level 5 concept. This d-segment car (think compact executive cars like the A4 or A5) with four electric motors good for 700-800 km of range on a charge (nearly 500 miles). The concept looks far into the distance of autonomous tech (the driver is pretty much unnecessary), but also offers an insight into what Audi is thinking of next for its electric vehicles.
It’s not all autonomy and electricity, though. Audi will also be unveiling a pair of compressed natural gas powered cars (the A4 Avant g-tron and the A5 Sportback g-tron). More excitingly, though, Audi is finally admitting that Audi Sport will reveal an RS Avant car, which will likely be the RS4 Avant.
Discuss this story on our Audi Forum
Leave a Reply