Automotive

Audi brings its laser lights to the USA in R8 V10 Plus Exclusive

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Just 25 examples of the Audi R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition will be built
Audi cuts through the night with laser lights
The parcel shelf on the Audi R8 V10 Plus has been trimmed in Alcantara
The luggage compartment in the Audi R8 V10 Exclusive Edition is trimmed in Alcantara
The leather in the Audi R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition in finished in a black and orange
The trim on the Audi R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition matches the exterior
Blackout trim on the exterior contrasts with the gray paint on the R8 V10 Plus
Just 25 examples of the Audi R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition will be built
The sideblades on the Audi R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition are finished in orange and black
The R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition will debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show
Orange and black trim in the Audi R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition
Audi R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition showing drivers which way is up
Power is put to the road through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox
The Audi R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition hits 100 km/h in just 3.2 seconds
Puddle lighting on the Audi R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition
The Audi R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition makes use of Alcantara throughout 
The Audi R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition is one of very few naturally aspirated supercars left in the world
The contrast leather buckets in the Audi R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition
Orange highlights on the Audi R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition
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Audi debuted laser headlamps on its R8 LMX back in May 2014, but Americans are yet to see the light. Although they're perfectly legal in Europe, a law from 1968 means the tech can't be fitted to American cars without being heavily modified. The R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition is the first Audi to sport US-friendly laser headlamps, packed in with a long list of upgrades to the standard R8 package.

It might be the first Audi to adapt laser lights to the US market, but the R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition isn't the first car fitted with the technology in America. That honor goes to the BMW i8, which debuted its Laserlight system at last year's Los Angeles Auto Show.

Around town, the car uses its regular LED headlamps, before defaulting to its laser system when the road is clear and the speedometer reads more than 40 mph (64 km/h). Each headlight is fitted with a laser module, made up of four high-intensity laser diodes that create a blue beam. This blue beam is then transformed into a bright, white light by a phosphor converter.

Based on the 601 hp (448 kW) R8 V10 Plus, the Exclusive Edition is designed to show the level of personalization on offer through Audi's "exclusive program." Although the body is painted Quantum Gray, the side-blades and grilles have been finished in a special shade of Titanium Black. There are also orange pinstripes on the side-blades, a theme which carries over into the cabin.

The Audi R8 V10 Plus Exclusive Edition hits 100 km/h in just 3.2 seconds

Opening the door reveals contrasted black and orange leather throughout, from the seats to the steering wheel. The headliner is trimmed in diamond-quilted Alcantara, and the luggage compartment has also been finished in the fancy microsuede material. Even the door sills have been given a makeover and are now finished in carbon fiber and backlit.

The exterior and cabin might have been tarted up, but nothing has changed under the skin. Power still comes from a 5.2-liter V10 engine with 601 hp (448 kW), and it's still put to the road through Audi's seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The 100 km/h (62 mph) sprint takes just 3.2 seconds, and the top speed is pegged at 205 mph (330 km/h).

Just 25 examples of the Exclusive Edition will be built, with a starting price of US$229,200. You can check out the laser light technology in the video below.

Source: Audi

View gallery - 18 images
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3 comments
amazed W1
"America" may yet prove to have been wiser than Europe. Laser lights if they produce light from an even smaller source than LEDs are not helpful to any driver proceeding in the opposite direction. The area of emission in LED fittings causes a source emission per unit area that dazzles the average human eye far more than the larger area of lower intensity of a typical filament source. It's a matter of contrast and the way the eye's iris "stops" down. The effect is bearable in cities and on M-ways with lighting but is definitely not on unlit roads, specially in the wet. I'm told that opticians say that this has become one of the major complaints of people who are worried that their vision is deteriorating.
McDesign
The (tiny) die area is not the illumination source that you eye "sees" - it's greatly supplemented (in all but the 450 nM :blue") the phosphor layer, and then passes through any optics in front.
Think how small an incandescent filament really is
As illumination sources grow ever stronger and more powerful, flux density is one of the chief issues we in solid-state lighting deal with daily.
Kpar
Nice Hi-Tech commercial, but it (the video) fails to give one an idea of how it looks to the driver in different lighting conditions. Plus, what keeps it from blinding oncoming traffic?