Audi Sport Quattro Laserlight concept to show at CES 2014 (pictures)
Audi announced it would show off this new concept car, using laser headlights and a powerful plug-in hybrid drivetrain, at CES next week.
Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
Audi's newest concept car, set to show at CES 2014 next week, gains its Laserlight name from the laser-based high-beam headlights it uses. Audi says the laser diodes are smaller than LEDs, yet produce twice the lighting range. The concept uses LEDs for its low beams.
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The Quattro part of its name means this concept would use Audi's all-wheel-drive system. The Quattro Laserlight also gets Audi's Sport Differential, a rear differential that vectors torque across the axle to help cornering performance.
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Audi defines a plug-in hybrid drivetrain for the Quattro Laserlight comprising a 4-liter V-8 with twin turbos complemented by an electric motor and 14.1 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack. Total system output hits 700 horsepower, while the battery pack allows over 30 miles of pure electric range.
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To shed weight, the Quattro Laserlight uses carbon fiber-reinforced plastic panels for the roof, hood, and hatch, while aluminum makes up the doors and fenders.
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Audi puts the engine start and DriveSelect buttons on the steering wheel, helping to clean up the dashboard. An LCD panel takes the place of an analog instrument cluster. Remarkably, Audi does away with a large center LCD in favor of a narrower display for infotainment purposes.
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While the Quattro Laserlight is purely a concept car, it shows many technologies Audi is developing for the road.
