Who said Germans can’t be funny? BMW uses their Instagram account to poke fun at Audi and their latest unveil: the Sport Quattro Laserlight Concept at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. For the first time, the 700-horsepower hybrid powertrain and carbon-fiber bodywork of the Sport Quattro concept are not the main attraction, and the laser light takes the main stage. The laser system is a combination of laser high beams and a matrix of LED low beams.
The Audi Sport Quattro Laser Light uses two trapezoidal headlamp elements in each headlight. The outer ring comprises a matrix of LED low beams with an aperture mask. The inner segment uses laser diodes to generate the laser light. Audi says the laser beams can reach 1,640 feet (500 meters) or a third of a mile. Audi says that’s twice the range and three times the lumosity (brightness) of LED beam headlamps.
So why is BMW poking fun at Audi? Munich engineers presented their first laser light headlights back in 2011 with the introduction of the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics and now the high-tech lights will make their way into the BMW i8 hybrid supercar when it goes on sale in March.
Audi CEO Rupert Stadler says that the company plans to be first into production with a car using laser headlamps, although he didn’t specify when.
[Source: Bimmertoday]
