German carmaker Audi will showcase its Sport Quattro Laserlight concept car, with laser headlights, at the upcoming 2014 International CES, which starts on Jan. 7 in Las Vegas.
The Audi Sport Quattro Laserlight concept is similar to the Audi Sport Quattro concept showcased at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September 2013. However, the latest car has a new "Plasma Red" color, better user control and display interfaces as well as laser headlamps, giving it the name Sport Quattro Laserlight.
Laser headlamps are a step up from LED headlamps. Instead of putting a series of light emitting diodes (LEDs) behind a lens a laser headlamp replaces the LEDs with laser diodes which functions like LEDs. However, laser diodes are physically smaller but are capable of emitting much more intense beams of light. Audi claims that laser diodes can be up to three times brighter than LED high beams and provide up to 500 feet of illumination.
"The new show car demonstrates technical 'Vorsprung' on many levels," says Professor Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, member of the board of Audi AG, Technical Development." On-board this car we have e-tron technology with 515 kW of power and 2.5 l/100 km (94.09 US mpg) fuel economy; laser headlights that leave all previous systems in the dark with its higher performance as well as new display and operating systems with cutting-edge electronic performance. We are showing the future of Audi here."
Just like the Sport Quattro, the Sport Quattro Laserlight concept will also use a plug-in hybrid drivetrain based on a four-liter V8 with twin turbochargers, which will produce 412 kW (560 horsepower) of power and 700 Nm (516.29 lb-ft) of torque.
The Audi Sport Quattro Laserlight can hit a speed of 62mph in just 3.7 seconds with a top speed rated at 190 mph. The car has a lithium-ion battery, which stores 14.1 kWh of energy enough for up to 50 km (31.07 miles) of pure electric driving.
The vehicle has the engine start and Drive Select (a feature that lets drivers select between sport and comfort settings) buttons on the steering wheel. The concept car has LED instrument panel powered by an Nvidia Tegra processor.
Audi may be using the Sport Quattro Laserlight to demonstrate new technologies in the car and it may not see a production version at all.
