Audi: sports cars can use self-driving, too

The big talk in the car industry at the moment surrounds the introduction of autonomous driving. The technology is nearly ready, even if legislation isn’t, and the onslaught of cars piloting themselves feels like an inevitability.

But if you like driving, you shouldn’t feel too disheartened. Least not according to Audi board member Dr Dietmar Voggenreiter, who answered Top Gear’s plea for some good news for people who still relish driving a car (quickly) themselves.

“We have clear ideas. Now, you take training when you go to trackdays. But in the next sports car, its autonomous mode may show you how to drive really fast, then give you feedback when you drive the next lap. Then it takes you out again and shows you better braking points.” Yikes.

“We talked about this with our designers, we called it ‘the ultimate track car’. This could be a sporty, fully autonomous car that drives you through to the traffic to the race track, so you’re fully relaxed for when you get to the race track, then switch to manual and enjoy yourself.

"There are a lot of ideas. We are also petrolheads so we like to drive cars. But nearly all Audi customers will find traffic jams super boring. I see it with the future RS6, when there’s traffic, you can switch to piloted drive.”

So, fast RS Audis that take care of the boring stuff, then act as an electronic teacher when you get to a trackday. Is your heart warmed by the idea? Or is there nothing more terrifying than being flung around on circuit by a bunch of software? For reference, we’ve already tried it…