What's all this about?
One word - lasers.
Lasers? Have you turned into Dr Evil?
No. It's just that Audi will be fitting them to the new R8 supercar, due for its Geneva debut in a few weeks' time.
Hasn't Audi already fitted lasers to an R8?
Yes, the run-out, £160,000 LMX special featured the technology, but now it will be offered range-wide on the second-generation R8. Audi says the laser main beams have twice the illuminating power of LED main beams.
Audi is a bit of a pioneer in this field, isn't it?
It does claim a number of automotive lighting firsts in its recent history, so it is perhaps no surprise that the German marque has now also opened a Lighting Competence Centre in Ingolstadt.
What does this entail?
There's a 120-metre, matt black-painted underground tunnel into which vehicles can be driven. Then, Audi's engineers can play around with all sorts of lighting solutions and camera-based lighting assistance systems, such as adaptive high beam. Expect more illuminating developments from Audi in years to come.
Matt Robinson - 16 Feb 2015