The latest generation of the Audi RS 7 piloted driving concept has just made an impressive debut at the Sonoma Raceway in California, rounding the 4.05km track in only 2:01.01 minutes.
“The car turned in lap times that were better than those of sports car drivers,” said Thomas Müller, who is responsible for the development of brake, steering and driver assistance systems at Audi.
In October of last year, a self-driving Audi RS 7 nicknamed “Bobby” lapped the Hockenheimring at speeds of up to 240 km/h. Weighing 400kg less than its predecessor, and powered by the same 560hp V8 engine as the production RS 7, the new generation can sprint from 0-100 km/h in under four seconds.
Autonomous driving systems are being developed by Audi with a focus on improving safety, performance, and fuel economy. The company has already announced that the technology will make its production debut in the redesigned Audi A8 full-size luxury sedan, taking control of the car during parking or in stop-and-go traffic on freeways at speeds of up to 60 km/h.
The self-driving Audi RS 7 follows the autonomous A7 (nicknamed “Jack”) that was unveiled earlier this year at the Consumers Electronics Show (CES) after driving on public highways from Silicon Valley to Las Vegas. It even travelled autonomously on German autobahns at speeds of up to 130 km/h.