Audi unveils R8 E-Tron Piloted Driving concept at CES Asia

Audi has unveiled the new R8 E-Tron Piloted Driving Concept at the Consumers Electronic Show Aida, in Shanghai. While the car looks identical to the R8 E-Tron which Audi unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, earlier this year, this fully-electric supercar comes with German manufacturer’s Piloted Driving system, which makes it a fully autonomous car.

The R8 E-Tron Piloted Driving concept comes with a host of sensors, a new laser scanner, ultrasonic sensors, radar transmitters and video cameras on both ends, which keep feeding data to zFAS, which is a central driver assistance control unit. The zFAS then controls the throttle, brakes and the steering, making the R8 E-Tron Piloted Driving concept a self-driving car.  

The electric powertrain in the R8 E-Tron packs 456bhp and 920Nm of torque, which is capable of propelling the car from 0 to 100kmph in just 3.9 seconds. The 92kWh battery in the R8 E-Tron gives it a total driving range of 550 kilometres.

While the concept of an autonomous driving system in a driver-focussed supercar might seem like an absurd idea, the engineers at Audi seem to think otherwise. However, at least we can take comfort in the fact that even if all the cars in the world become self-driven at some point of time, we will still have mid-engined supercars to be driven around.