2000 Audi Tt Quattro on 2040-cars

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Audi will have an autonomous car in 2020 using NVIDIA tech and AI

Audi and NVIDIA have been working together for a while, with most of the results being fancy infotainment systems like the current version of MMI and Audi's Virtual Cockpit display setup. Now the two are partnering to build autonomous vehicles that will leverage NVIDIA technology. Audi has a demonstrator now and promises a fully autonomous car for the year 2020. The tech underlying these new self-driving vehicles is NVIDIA's DRIVE computing platform. It uses the latest in artificial intelligence concepts, including neural networks, which are basically computer science's way of modeling decisionmaking after the way the human brain works. The network is able to learn and improve as it goes by making new connections. Machine learning tasks being handled by neural networks include computer vision, which can use a combination of sensors and cameras to help a computer, in this case the car, figure out what's going on in an environment to navigate through it. The companies are already demonstrating a version of DRIVE, the DRIVE PX 2, in the autonomous Audi Q7 shown above. The crossover is able to figure out its own path and can sense and drive on different types of surfaces, including pavement, grass, and dirt, plus it can navigate the cones of a simulated construction zone while reading dynamic detour signs. In 2018, Audi will expand testing of its autonomous vehicles on California public roads. The manufacturer has been permitted to test cars in the state since 2014. In announcing the expansion, Audi makes a point to mention it intends to follow applicable laws to the letter, which seems like more than a veiled reference to the trouble Uber found itself in recently when it didn't quite meet testing requirements in San Francisco. Audi has also promised Level 3 autonomy from the 2018 A8, which will feature a system called Traffic Jam Pilot to control the steering, throttle, and brakes at speeds below 35 mph. The company's previous autonomous work includes a self-driving RS7 track car named Bobby, which our own Jonathan Buckley got to race against in the Translogic episode below. Related Video:

24 Hours of Le Mans live update part three

We tasked surfing journalist Rory Parker to watch this year's live stream of the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans. What follows is an experiment to experience the world's greatest endurance race from the perspective of a motorsports novice. Parker lives in Hawaii and has an associates degree in dropping f-bombs. For Part One, click here. Part Two is here. Really hoped I'd be able to grab an hour or two of sleep before the sun rose over Le Mans. Dark dark dark, couldn't figure out what was going on. Commentators struggled at times as well. But I couldn't do it. Endurance racing is just too exciting. Grabs my attention with both fists. Screams, "watch these men DRIVE!" A neighbor invited me over for drinks. Told him, "Can't do it, gotta watch Le Mans!" Maybe not exactly. I'll admit, at times my attention wandered. I did a load of laundry. Ate some snacks. Half listened to the commentary. Threw a hump at my wife. I learned that Patrick Long, driving #88, is big brother to Kevin "Spanky" Long. Spanky's a bit of a legend in the skate world. Always weird how top notch talent can run in families like that. Kind of surprised I've never heard that before. Worked for a skate mag for a years, met Spanky a handful of times. Someone must've told me that he has an older brother who drives race cars. Dash cams at night are scary. High powered headlights in the P1s reach almost 300 meters. Cars outrun that distance easy. Seems like they're just steering into the black and hoping for the best. But that can't be the case. People'd be dropping dead let and right. Very amused by how the guys in GT are like, "Dude, stop flashing your fucking lights before you pass." But the LMP's are all, "Suck a dick! I do what I want." Top three stayed neck and neck nearly all night long. As the sun gets ready to creep back over the horizon the top three are separated by only eleven and a half seconds. Toyota 5 and 6, Porsche 2. Audi 8 is two laps behind Porsche, beleaguered 7 is dealing with constant trouble eleven laps from the front. GTE Pro sees Ferrari 82 in first, Ford 68 and 69 right behind. To win you've gotta drive perfect, build perfect. Fours cars retired so far. I'm beginning to appreciate the endurance aspect a little more fully. Only really considered the drivers at first. The mental and physical stress driving these cars at these speeds at length would inflict. But keeping the damn things running is the real deal. To win you've gotta drive perfect, build perfect.

Audi to unveil S1 hot hatch at Geneva Motor Show

Audi has been toying with the idea of a hot hatch based on the A1 premium city car for some time now. It rolled out the 500-horsepower A1 Clubsport Quattro concept at the Wörthersee gathering a couple of years ago, then put its form (with half the power) into limited production with the 252hp A1 Quattro (pictured above) shortly thereafter. What it hasn't done is offer a mainstream S1 that people can actually get their hands on, but that's all about to change.
Following spy shots of numerous prototypes, Auto Express claims to have it on good authority that the new S1 will be unveiled at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show in March. Though likely less aggressive in its visual impact, the S1 is expected to get almost as much power as the aforementioned A1 Quattro, with a 2.0-liter turbo 4-cylinder sourced from the larger S3 but detuned to 230 hp.
A six-speed dual-clutch transmission is expected to drive all four wheels - something for which the platform was not originally designed but was later adapted to accommodate - though the availability of a six-speed manual remains in question. Unfortunately the A1 was never destined for the North American market, so as much as we might want one (and as much as Ingolstadt may be motivated to take a bite out of the Mini market), we wouldn't expect to see it roaring into American showrooms.