Recently at the 2015 CES Asia in Shanghai, Audi took the wraps off the R8 e-tron piloted driving concept. This is Audi’s third autonomous concept car and is based on the all-electric R8 e-tron. It features the same 462 PS (340 kW) and 920 Nm (679 lb-ft) electric motor, providing a 0-100 km/h timing of 3.9 seconds. The Ingolstadt based company explains it will be “introducing technologies into production which will handle the task of driving in certain situations, at the request of the driver” in the next two years.
The two electric motors each output 170 kW of power and 460 Nm of torque to the rear axle. The concept can accelerate to an electronically-governed top speed of 210 km/h or 250 km/h, depending on the car’s tires. Intelligent energy management and an electromechanical brake system enable high energy recuperation rates. Targeted torque vectoring which is nothing but need based distribution of power transmission between the rear wheels, ensures maximum stability and dynamism.
The R8 e-tron piloted driving technical study is equipped with all of the functions of piloted driving. Data is acquired from the interplay of an array of sensors: a new type of laser scanner, several video cameras, ultrasonic sensors and radar sensors at the front and rear. Based on signals from these sources, the central driver assistance control unit (zFAS), a compact central computer, computes a comprehensive picture of the vehicle’s environment.
Audi says it can build the R8 e-tron in handcrafted quality to meet special customer requests.