Mohammed Saadon Al-Kuwari among the first to experience Audi RS 7 piloted driving concept

The Audi RS 7 piloted driving concept has once again driven to record times – autonomously and without any interventions by the driver. At the challenging FAST Parcmotor race track near Barcelona in Spain, Audi demonstrated its technological competence in piloted driving. The VIP passengers included beIN sports presenter Mohammed Saadon Al-Kuwari, and ArabGT founder and owner Mousub Shashaa as well as acclaimed Indian musician and actress Monica Dogra, who were hand-picked to hear their views on the driving technology of the future. Everyone had the experience of a lifetime in the latest generation of the high-powered, four-door sport coupe under race conditions.

At its second race course appearance this year in Sonoma, California, Audi trimmed the weight-reduced RS 7 for even higher performance. “Under challenging conditions on various international race courses, we are acquiring important experience in tuning our piloted functions at performance limits. Of course, this benefits development of our production assistance systems such as collision avoidance assist in the new Audi A4,” says Thomas Müller, who is responsible for the development of braking, steering and driver assistance systems at Audi. “Each race track is different and presents new challenges for us. We use the knowledge we gain to enhance the robustness and performance of our test vehicle. This has resulted in excellent lap times with a best lap time of 2:07.67 minutes for the 4.2 km long course.”

For some time now, Audi has been testing piloted driving under increasingly challenging conditions. In October 2014, an RS 7 with the project name “Bobby” already completed a driverless lap of the Hockenheimring at speeds of up to 240 km/h. The current generation of the car is named “Robby,” and is powered by a 4.0 TFSI V8 biturbo engine with a power output of 560 hp. Robby is around 400 kg lighter than the previous model. In July 2015, Robby had already thrilled the American public when it drove on the Sonoma Raceway in California without an active driver, turning in lap times that were better than those of sports car drivers.

Commenting on the successful trip, Al-Kuwari said: “I am extremely thrilled and honored to be part of this amazing experience. The “Robby” RS 7 is a technological marvel that promises an unparalleled road experience like never before. I am grateful to Audi for providing us this wonderful opportunity of experiencing first-hand the driverless technology. Both “Robby” and “AJ” RS 7’s set a new benchmark in automobile innovation with remarkable autonomous technology and road performance. I hope we see this technology demonstrated in the Middle East in the future.  

Mousub Shashaa adds: “It is amazing how Audi has set out to fundamentally change the way we operate our cars. The focus is on the intelligence of the technology and the decisions of the driver. Our ability to enjoy ourselves on the road becomes less enjoyable when we are weaving through heavy traffic and the constant stop-and-go demands our full attention. Making decisions can be tiring. And how many of us have never made a wrong decision while on the road? Now we can let the car take over much like the autopilot that operates at 10,000 meters altitude on a plane.”

Whether it is braking, steering or accelerating, the piloted car controls all driving functions – fully automated and with high precision. Audi is also testing piloted driving in the challenging situation of real road traffic. In early 2015, “Jack” – an Audi A7 piloted driving concept car – autonomously drove the 900 km route from Silicon Valley to Las Vegas with journalists aboard. Shortly thereafter, this car also drove autonomously at speeds of up to 130 km/h on German autobahns. 

At CES Asia in May 2015, journalists experienced piloted driving in the complex traffic of mega-city Shanghai. And in October 2015, Audi demonstrated automatic emergency evasive maneuvers of a test vehicle with moving obstacles in the urban environment.

The development work, which includes driving on a very wide array of testing grounds, is yielding valuable knowledge for series-production systems – from sensor technology and data processing to vehicle control and stabilization.

Audi technologies for piloted driving stand for the principles of safety, time savings, efficiency and convenience. The systems can make a valuable contribution toward safety, especially when the driver is overwhelmed or underwhelmed by driving tasks. When used to temporarily assume driving tasks, the predictive technology makes driving more efficient, reduces stress and enhances comfort. In addition, it gives drivers greater freedom for organizing their time in the car. Piloted driving will make its production debut in the next generation of the luxury-class sedan, the Audi A8. 

The systems can assume driving tasks during parking or in stop-and-go traffic on freeways at speeds of up to 60 km/h.