It would appear that Audi is intent on being our cover car as much as possible and, not to be outdone by BMW with the i8, they have just released news of their new Le Mans contender the R18 e-tron quattro hybrid racing car featuring laser lighting up front – just as the i8 does to complement it’s already powerful LED lamps.
Although the technology is not new, lasers have been around for a very long time now in all sorts of uses, complementing bright light technology in headlamps is a relatively new application that aims to allow drivers to see even further in the dark.
It will come as no surprise to those who are familiar with lasers that their intense beam is able to project light from small devices very far indeed. As such, lasers are in some ways an obvious means of illuminating your path as you shoot down the Mulsanne straight at speeds in excess of 200mph… while fending off a Toyota hybrid no doubt at the same time too!
Of course, it should be noted that as this will be used in a racing situation, you shouldn’t get your hopes up for having laser technology in your daily motor anytime soon. However, as aforementioned in our article on the BMW i8’s laser lighting system, the technology has already developed enough to be in the road cars of tomorrow. Although the intense beam would concern the average person who regularly drives at night against ever increasing bright lights of modern vehicles, the laser technology only aids the full beam LED lighting which is of course only used when safe to do so… except for a racetrack where they’ll likely be making cars stop as they’re blinded by glowing rear view mirror reflections.
For those interested in how the technology works, audi says:
“A blue laser beam backlights a yellow phosphorus crystal lens through which the light beam is then emitted”
Which makes it much clearer as we think you’ll agree!
Photo source; Audi
