VW's Golf GTi "53 plus 1" is fully autonomous

You might think Volkswagen, of all car companies, would argue the best part about driving is the bit where you're driving (i.e. "fahrvergnugen"), and that drivers are, you know, wanted. Not so any longer, friends; looks like the higher ups got the Stanley bug and pimped their ride -- though not in any normal sense of the vernacular. They've begun showing off a new cloak and dagger prototype vehicle dubbed the VW Golf GTi "53 plus 1" (you're allowed not to catch the Herbie reference), which apparently uses a rig of laser sensors, GPS, and a radar net to drive itself at speeds of up to 150mph. We'll give you a moment to let that sink in. Now, why they had all this technology under wraps while Stanford was busting ass overhauling one of VW's own Touaregs for the DARPA Grand Challenge is beyond us, but unlike those "driving pleasure" types, you can give us a safe (clean burning) robo-car any day of the week. Except Sunday, that's drivin' day.

[Via GoRobotics]

[ahamsandwich @ Jul 2nd 2006 10:36AM]

geez, how sweet would it be to take on a cross-country roadtrip in the driver's seat?! i wish theyd put these into production!

[wes @ Jul 2nd 2006 10:44AM]

eh you meant "fahrvergnuegen" right? *g*

[steve Williams @ Jul 2nd 2006 11:05AM]

Wow! Now I can turn completely around in my seat to smack the kids without endangering others.

[miron @ Jul 2nd 2006 11:24AM]

can it drift?

[DJ Rick P @ Jul 2nd 2006 11:35AM]

I thought it was "fahrfrompoopin" ;-)

[james @ Jul 2nd 2006 11:36AM]

um, its front wheel drive, it cant drift

[Fabian Bauhaus @ Jul 2nd 2006 11:54AM]

Yeah, I'll wait until I can get that in a black '82 Trans Am.

[Kevin @ Jul 2nd 2006 12:23PM]

You've got my mouth watering. I am a big fan of VW and own a tricked out 2002 Jetta. I would love to have on of these. Keep up the good work in providing useful stuff that one can use. I love this site. You guys rock!

[colin @ Jul 2nd 2006 12:30PM]

Hey james...I could drift in my 87 Corolla Sedan. That's a front wheel drive vehicle. Half the cars in the Tokyo Drift are front wheel.

[Victor @ Jul 2nd 2006 12:58PM]

Too bad it would never pass America's government tests. I would own one in a heartbeat, I own a 2000 Jetta, and I'm getting a 2007 EOS in a few weeks when my local dealer gets them. VeeDubs!

[Todd @ Jul 2nd 2006 12:59PM]

...funny, I always thought skynet would pick like a Hummer or a tank, or something that looks like what Lord Humungus drove in Mad Max 2.

[porkchop with applesauce @ Jul 2nd 2006 1:05PM]

I wonder if it will drive itself to the service centre for its bi-weekly $500 repair bill like the the Jetta and Van that I owned. Never again! It is the ultimate irony that VW make this computerized laser guided car, when they can't make a car that any of the electrical systems work on.
Death trap! if you can't make your heater controls, or power windows reliably work forget about guidance!

[Jacob @ Jul 2nd 2006 1:45PM]

@ James

That is what the ebrake is for!!! :D

[Allan Clark @ Jul 2nd 2006 1:52PM]

Sorry, Porkchop, but every really bad experience has a really good experience -- the universe balances in its path to entropy.

My 1971 beetle rocked, still does. Damned reliable, and yes, both heaters still work, and have saved my toes and fingers on cold nights when the snow was too deep.

My 1996 Jetta had zero problems, but I only had it 2 years, sold it when I changed countries.

My 1999 new-Jetta's only problem was the dude hit-and-running in a parking lot. It saved my fingers, toes, and much more of me when the water was too deep on dark interstates. Photo in the link. Sold it when I changed countries.

I have had a charmed life with VWs, I feel really awful that I have taken the good mana from your experiences.

[Marcus Albert @ Jul 2nd 2006 2:04PM]

Hi Guys! Its "Fahrvergügen". I have to stay hard in case of the missing Umlaut ;-)

[cody @ Jul 2nd 2006 2:05PM]

You know, KITT could do that over 20 years ago. And better.

[SR20VET @ Jul 2nd 2006 3:40PM]

No it can't drift. It is physically impossible for a FWD (or AWD) car to truly drift. Sure it can get sideways with the handbrake and pull itself straight with the front wheels, but you need to be able to control and hold your slip angle. Something that is only possible in a RWD car. The intricacies are a bit much for a comment but feel free to email me if you want a deeper explanation.

As for the tech I suppose it could serve a purpose for commuters but I don't even like using cruse control forget auto-pilot.

[Paco @ Jul 2nd 2006 5:18PM]

So when our robot overlords take over they will be cruising in VW's. Excellent, Ich begrüße unsere Roboter overloards!

[russ @ Jul 2nd 2006 5:55PM]

ie and firefox don't seem to like the apostrophe in the gorobotics link - they are happier with this:

http://www.gorobotics.net/The-News/Latest-News/Volkswagen%27s-Prototype-Robotic-Car/

[bogphanny @ Jul 2nd 2006 9:05PM]

http://keiconcept.net/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=30&func=download&filecatid=23

^ 660cc FWD Keicar Drift Comp.

pretty funny actually

[2003 and 1999 Eurovan @ Jul 2nd 2006 10:59PM]

applesauce, I'm not sure what vw van you are talking about...I've had two VW VR6 vans. Both I bought new, a 1999 and a 2003. Over 100k miles and not a single problem...in fact, I've seen people put on a lot more miles and they don't have any problems. If you are talking about the vans from decades ago...well, decades ago was well...decades ago. Veeeeeeeeeeeeeedub!

Now will Veedub come out with a new 2007 or 2008 van...they stopped making them in 2003. I am so sad...the only van that comes close to its size is the ugly sprinter and full size grandma vans. I heard BMW or Mercedes were coming out with a Eurovan sized vehicle...I forget which...but it doesn't look very hopeful at this point. Vans don't carry the soccer mom image in Europe as they do in the states...so maybe that is why they keep making vans so mini.

[2003 and 1999 Eurovan @ Jul 2nd 2006 11:09PM]

Actually, they have the new T5 vans in Europe and even in Mexico, but they don't sell them here. :( Arrggh! They have a diesel T5 VW van, 5 speed that gets 35mpg! A full-size minivan at better gas mileage than most compact cars! Oh well, i guess I'll hold onto my 17mpg VR6 vans. :(

[Kowalski @ Jul 3rd 2006 1:38AM]

I, for one welcome our non-drifting german robocar overlords.

[goorooV @ Jul 3rd 2006 3:20AM]

folks, it's statistically possible to get a Toyota that just won't work as well as a VW that will...it's just how willing you are to play the odds when year after year they are shown to be WAAAY against VWs being dependable.

Unless, of course, all those people who send in surveys to Consumer Reports diss their very own VWs are lying to make VW purchasers like themselves seem clueless...which makes no sense at all.

If you're hoping that your $15-50k is going to get you a vehicle that's gonna work as advertised, you gotta be nuts to ignored all the stats and not buy Toyota/Honda. Think about the Prius, and how INSANELY complex it is--yet it works--reliably! VW could NEVER pull that off!

My own experience is that I've never known a VW owner who didn't either want to or actually go through with suing the dealer. Their slogan should be changed to "VW: Mechanics Wanted."

[lettcco @ Jul 3rd 2006 3:33AM]

Dake me to a volkWagen deeala

[Gridlock @ Jul 3rd 2006 6:00AM]

"No it can't drift. It is physically impossible for a FWD (or AWD) car to truly drift. Sure it can get sideways with the handbrake and pull itself straight with the front wheels, but you need to be able to control and hold your slip angle. Something that is only possible in a RWD car"

So, you've never heard of lift-off oversteer? True, "drifting" (if you define it as power-sliding, using the throttle for steering) is impossible in a FWD car, but AWD cars can do it (see for example, umm, every WRC car since the Quattro?), and by no means do you need the handbrake to get the back end out.

While you make out it's all very complicated and people can email you for a full explanation, you're really just pulling 'facts' out of your arse.

[SR20VET @ Jul 3rd 2006 9:31AM]

No an AWD car can NOT drift. Even the Audi RS4 which supposedly has a 95% rear bias is still unable to hold a consistant angle. It can get way sideways while you're off throttle, but as soon as you get back on it the front wheels simply pull you straight.

You need to be able to break the rear wheels traction (and keep it broken) while maintaining the front wheels traction. With AWD it's all or nothing. You either loose traction at all 4 wheels or you have traction at all 4 wheels.

Before you accuse me of pulling facts from my "arse" I suggest doing a bit of research. AWD isn't all the hype machine makes it out to be. Oh and just to burst your bubble some more. It is physically impossible for an AWD car to handle better than an otherwise equal RWD car.

[Gareth Jones @ Jul 3rd 2006 10:04AM]

An AWD car drifting - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8543751698465914780&q=4wd+drift

[Silver R. Wolfe @ Jul 3rd 2006 12:13PM]

Why are you talking about drifting? It doesn't matter.

I personally think this is a nice new step VW has taken. Yay for robocars!

[Ty @ Jul 3rd 2006 12:50PM]

"My own experience is that I've never known a VW owner who didn't either want to or actually go through with suing the dealer. Their slogan should be changed to VW: 'Mechanics Wanted.'"

VW's can be a little squirrely... but they're pretty easy to work on. I know a lot of people are little wary of working on their own cars, but the risk/reward factor is more than enough motivation for me. My 01' Jetta runs just like new, and I get a lot of satisfaction out of that. I've done quite a bit of preventive maintenance and nearly all the regular maintenance. I've only had one "problem" with my car, since I've had it, which was a 30 minute fix after I got the $8 part from the dealership the day of the problem. However, it would have cost me a couple grand to have a mechanic perform all the maintenance I've done on my car opposed to the couple hundred I've spend on parts... and if that maintenance wouldn't have been done it's hard to say where I'd be...

[stanley's neighbor @ Jul 4th 2006 3:16AM]

VW did not have any autonomous cars (GTI, Herbies, or otherwise) when Stanley was built or raced. The experimental GTIs of that time (October 2005) drove by GPS on a pre-programmed path. That is not considered autonomous; it would fail on an uncharted or changing road.

The laser sensors and radar are new. Have you considered the possibility that a company's research technology can advance in eight months?

Also, VW will get a minivan shortly. It is based on the Dodge Caravan / Chrysler Town & Country.

[MB @ Jul 8th 2006 11:43PM]

@Gareth Jones

200sx is RWD??? Your vid doesn't really help in this debate.

[1334 @ Jul 10th 2006 3:27PM]

reminds me of iRobot.. "you're switching to manual mode?!?! are you crazy?"

[Ed @ Jul 21st 2006 12:35AM]

Great! They need to make one that will clean the bathroom. Then they'll have a product that everyone will want!!

[kree @ Aug 16th 2006 6:35AM]

Which cars in Tokyo drift are mostly front wheel drive????
The Nissans there are all RWD, the EVO is also RWD though the front driveshafts were prob disconnected to get it to drift ala D1 GP style.