New Audi RS7 'Robby'

Posted in Audi On By David Moffatt
Piloted driving at Audi is approaching production readiness at race pace. On one of the world’s most challenging race tracks, the Sonoma Raceway in California, the latest generation of the Audi RS 7 piloted driving concept has surpassed previous top performances once again. Audi will be offering piloted driving for the first time in the upcoming generation of the Audi A8.
“In Sonoma, we took the Audi RS 7 piloted driving concept to its physical limits lap after lap, and it handled the task with uniform precision,” says Thomas Müller, who is responsible for the development of brake, steering and driver assistance systems at Audi. “The car turned in lap times that were better than those of sports car drivers.” The RS 7 took just 2:01.01 minutes to complete the 4,050-meter (2.5 mi) circuit.
For some time now, Audi has been testing piloted driving under increasingly challenging conditions. In October 2014, an RS 7 nicknamed “Bobby” already completed a driverless lap on the Hockenheimring at speeds up to 240 km/h(149.1 mph). The new generation of the car is named “Robby,” has a power output of 412 kW (560 hp) and is around 400 kg (881.8 lb) lighter than its predecessor. Whether braking, steering or accelerating, the piloted car controls all driving functions fully autonomously and with maximum precision.
The technologies for piloted driving stand for safety, time savings, efficiency and convenience. The systems can make a valuable contribution to safety, especially when the driver is overwhelmed or underwhelmed by driving tasks.
Find out more about our Audi S7 leasing offers.