Audi will debut the successor to today’s A8 luxury saloon in 2017 and it will be the brand’s first car to make the transition from assisted to piloted-driving adopting tech previewed on the RS7 Piloted Driving Concept.
According to Audi research and development boss, Ulrich Hackenberg, the next A8 will have the traffic-jam pilot on board, which when activated, takes over longitudinal and lateral guidance when it detects a traffic jam on a highway at speeds between 0 and 60 km/h (37 mph), as well as piloted parking, which in recent concepts, allows the car to park by itself while owners stand by.
Hackenberg did not elaborate on how these two systems will work on the production A8.
“The prerequisites for piloted driving are radar, laser and ultrasound sensors as well as cameras in and at the outside of the car,” said Hackenberg. “This is how we generate a precise picture of the traffic situation. We therefore create a stable, redundant system that masters all situations in road traffic.
“We are already testing piloted driving in Germany, the United States and Asia,” he added. “In this way, we are learning a lot about the behavior of our cars, our drivers and other road users in real road traffic.”
Hackenberg also revealed that next A8 will be the first production to fully incorporate the design language of the Prologue Coupe and Avant Concepts, which he described as “muscular and athletic and at the same time flowing and elegant”. Both studies are the work of Audi’s new Head of Design, Marc Lichte, who assumed this position in February of 2014.
Note: Audi Prologue Concepts pictured
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