2017 Frankfurt Motor Show: Audi expands on its autonomous driving commitment

Words by Afzal Rawuther

At its press conference at the Frankfurt motor show , Audi clearly outlined its mission for the near future for its cars. First to come up was the Audi A8, the flagship of the company and now the only series production car in the world with Level 3 autonomy. The model showcased was the A8L 55 TFSI Quattro. The car can drive itself, in certain scenarios up to a speed of 130kmph without any input from the driver. Audi then subsequently went on to introduce the Elaine concept. The elaine is a further development of the E-Tron Sportback that was previously showcased. The elaine, when launched will be a level 4 autonomous vehicle and will be able to drive itself at 130kmph with automated lane changing and overtaking features available.

Audi stressed about what Audi liked to call Audi Intelligence and claimed that the its cars would in the future free up time for its buyers as they would no longer have to drive. It went on to showcase what it called the AICON. The AICON would be a level 5 autonomous vehicle and would have a huge amount of data from its sensors, from the internet, from the users themselves and would subsequently use all of that data to make users live easy. Audi was clear about the focus of its press conference and didn’t even talk about the engine or performance stats. It was all about autonomous driving. Audi also talked about its plans for electrification of its cars and claimed that one-third pf all its cars sold in 2025 will be electric.

Audi sport however, had an altogether different approach. It premiered two of its models : the fourth gen RS4 Avant and the Audi R8 V10 RWS. The RS4 was displayed in the Nogaro blue colour- a homage to the first RS4 from 1994. The new RS4 gets a V6 biturbo petrol engine producing 450bhp and 600Nm of torque. It accelerates from 0-100kmph in a scarcely believable 4.1 seconds. The new car is 80kgs lighter than its predecessor and 17 percent more efficient.

The Audi R8 V10 RWS is the only Audi ever to be completely rear wheel drive; the RWS stands for Rear Wheel Series. Only 999 examples will be made. It is powered by the same 5.2L V10 from the regular R8 producing 540bhp and powering the R8 to 100kmph in 3.7 seconds and to a further top speed of 320kmph. There being only two driven wheels has ensured that the car is now lighter by 50kgs. Audi sport claimed that their model lineup will increase to 16 from the present 11 by 2020.