Car FYI

Photo Credit: Audi AG It's been more than two years when the beam of some vehicle headlights gained intensity in Europe. In 2014, the first use of laser lighting technology debuted on a pair of niche vehicles (the European BMW i8 and a limited 99-car run of the special edition Audi R8 LMX. Generating a powerful white illumination using an indirect shine of a laser (a laser is projected through a mirror into a phosphorous lens), laser automotive lights may represent the next progression beyond LEDs as a high-beam source. As this lighting concept is slowly becoming a potentially bright opportunity for greater driver visibility during the nighttime, North America has not been involved in the efforts to highlight the use of laser lights. The prohibition on laser lights served as a reminder towards decades where the North American standards for vehicle lighting tends to lag behind European rules. Uncertainty with the technology has prevented its availability at the initial release...

Photo Credit: Audi AG This weekend, another major auto racing series receives the green flag for 2016. The Pirelli World Challenge season commences on a 3.41-mile Circuit of the Americas track in Austin, Texas where seven categories of production-based race cars will be put through their paces by some talented sports car drivers. Presented by Nissan, the 2016 season opening rounds at the Circuit of the Americas will feature the first battles of a highly-competitive GT class. In the category where the Porsche GT3, Cadillac ATS-V.R and McLaren 650S compete door-to-door, one of Canada’s young sports car racing talents will make his debut. Barrie, Ontario’s Kyle Marcelli is the new addition to the CRP Racing organization. Making a rookie appearance in the 2016 Pirelli World Challenge, Marcelli will wheel a #2 Audi R8 LMS sponsored by DeVilbiss in the GT class. Describing his new ride as an exciting team to be part of, the 26-year-old-year Canadian driver stated, "Competing in ...

It is almost the 15th year anniversary for when Audi's first name in performance made a lasting impact on the world. March 2000, the Audi R8 prototype race car stormed to a momentous victory at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Following the maiden victory, the Audi R8 race car would become a dynasty defined by a dominate string of wins including multiple victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Seven years after the break-through Sebring win, a street-going version of the R8 inspired by the legend and technology of the race car was first sold to the public. The Audi R8 supercar quickly gained a reputation placing it on-par with the best exotic high-performance cars in the world. Standard quattro all-wheel drive paired with reliable power from the original 4.2-liter V-8 and later a 5.2-liter V-10 engine was more than enough to become a halo car for the German luxury bra...

Last year, Audi shined a light on a new future of automotive illumination. Laser headlights has been promoted by the German automaker as a powerful, efficient way to light driving paths at night or low light conditions. Championing the technology for a long time , Audi was one of the first manufacturers to offer laser lighting on a production automobile (BMW pulled off a tricky move to become the very first to market with laser headlights by offering eight customers for free on the i8 sports car). A component of the limited edition Audi R8 LMX, laser lights began beaming on European roads for summer of 2014. Only 300 micrometers in diameter, the laser spot employed on the 99 existing R8 LMX provides a strengthened source to supplement the LED high beams. With laser lighting, the R8 LMX edition boasted twice the range of illumination as with full-LED headlights (the equivalent distance of five football fields. F...