Race pace

Piloted driving gets even closer to series production.

“In Sonoma, we took the Audi RS 7 piloted driving concept to its physical limits lap after lap... the RS 7 Sportback turned in lap times that were better than those of sports car drivers.”

24 October, 2015

Sonoma Raceway in California is a 4.05 kilometre circuit that demands respect and complete attention to navigate at race speed. The fact that Audi chose this particular track to put the latest generation of piloted driving through its paces is no coincidence as the company refines its piloted driving systems ahead of implementation in the next generation Audi A8.

Producing times around the circuit that would put many a professional sports car driver to shame, Audi’s piloted driving continues to impress – the new Audi RS7, nicknamed Robby – is lighter and faster than its predecessor. In fact in boasts 412kW of power and is a massive 400kg lighter than the previous car known as Bobby.

“In Sonoma, we took the Audi RS 7 piloted driving concept to its physical limits lap after lap, and it handled the task with uniform precision,” said Thomas Müller, who is the man responsible for the development of brake, steering and driver assistance systems at Audi.

“The car turned in lap times that were better than those of sports car drivers.” The RS 7 taking just 2:01.01 minutes to complete a lap of the circuit, with the piloted car controlling driving, braking, steering and acceleration, fully autonomously and with unbelievable precision.

Audi’s stunning demonstration last year at the Hockenheimring, when the aforementioned ‘Bobby’ blasted around the famous track sans driver made a lasting impression on the automotive world.

Since then, Audi has given journalists the chance to experience piloted driving first hand with an A7 nicknamed ‘Jack’, driving journalists from Silicon Valley to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at the start of the year.

More recently, press attending the CES in China experienced the technology in the maelstrom of traffic that is Shanghai. Again, with outstanding results. But as futuristic as it may sound, this is far from being a technology for the future. These systems are well advanced in their development for series production and the advantages for safety, time savings, efficiency and convenience make them an exciting addition for the next generation of Audi luxury models – namely the Audi A8*.

In the meantime though, Audi will continue to push the envelope with more and more advanced prototypes, as Robby and ‘his’ siblings continue to challenge existing perceptions and record ever-more stunning results on tracks and public roads around the world.

*Exact launch details and specification of the new generation Audi A8 to be confirmed.

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Race pace

Piloted driving gets even closer to series production.

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