Audi A8 prototype electronically mimics Lotus, Mercedes

The engineers over at Audi have either been eating some serious brain-food, or they've got those extra bright light bulbs floating over their heads, because the company's new A8 concept car is kind of amazing. The idea behind the the vehicle is satanically simple: what if you could "tweak" a car electronically so that it drives like other makes and models? The A8 achieves this function by tacking on additional hydraulics and an active steering system (including hardware to steer the rear wheels), which allows the car to emulate the feel of an E-Class Mercedes-Benz, a VW GTI, the Lotus Elise, and strangely enough the supermini Hyundai Getz. Audi calls the system HORST, or Handling Online Research Simulation Tool, and uses the single prototype in operation exclusively for developmental purposes. As it stands, the automaker probably won't be taking this project mainstream (certainly not at its cost of ten times the sticker price on the A8, which is between $70,000 and $120,000), but the possibilities it suggests for modern vehicles makes the future of driving seem a little more interesting.

[Via AutoBlog]

[Big @ Jul 4th 2007 2:43AM]

I actualy own an S550.
I don't think Audi can come up with anything to top it.

I've driven my company's A8L before and I wasn't impressed at all.

[DutchGuy @ Jul 4th 2007 2:58AM]

So what does that have to do with the topic at hand? What you're doing is like bragging about Zunes in an iPod topic.

[KML @ Jul 4th 2007 3:23AM]

I actually own an F430.

I don't think Audi can come up with anything to top it.

I've driven my company's R8 before and I wasn't impressed at all.

[daewoo @ Jul 4th 2007 3:56AM]

I actualy own an daewoo.
I don't think Audi can come up with anything to top it.

I've driven my company's A8L before and I wasn't impressed at all.

[Vinay @ Jul 4th 2007 6:08AM]

I actually own a 50-dollar bicycle. Built well enough to allow me to take it upstairs to my apartment.

I don't think Audi can come up with anything to top it.

I've driven my company's A8L up the apartment stairs before and I wasn't impressed at all. Neither was the landlord, for that matter.

[Keaton @ Jul 4th 2007 9:02PM]

I actually own a pair of payless shoes... gets me where I need to go...
I don't think Audi can come up with anything to top it.

I've borrowed my companies shoes before and I wasn't impressed at all. They kinda stank.

[Colin @ Jul 4th 2007 2:58AM]

An very cool concept but, just like imitation crab, Audi will only ever be able to pass off "VW GTi" to people who haven't tasted/driven the real thing.

Suppose I finally get a job that could afford me an A8; can Audi really make it feel like my old Rx-7? You're still hurling 2000+ lbs more around the cones. Are the hydraulics going to somehow toss 51/49 weight balance into the mix?

Hell, if they *really* want to impress me, they'll replicate my '86 Pony. They'll have to install hydraulics in the roof to lower it 3" so my head is touching the sunroof while I drive. ;)

[Evan @ Jul 4th 2007 8:32AM]

Considering that Audi is owned by VW, and the base version of the Audi A3 is mechanically identical to a VW GTi, I think Audi is more familiar with the GTi than you give them credit for.

[Colin @ Jul 4th 2007 8:40AM]

@Evan:
This being a car conversation, I figured the whole VW-Audi-Porsche thing was a gimme. "Familiar" in your argument pretty much shores up what I was saying: How can you turn an A8 into an A3 without shaving a thousand pounds off the curb weight? It'll be familiar, not realistic.

[tomijlahtinen @ Jul 4th 2007 3:57AM]

70 000$ to 120 000$? Hell, I really need to pack my bags and move to U.S.
Here in Finland Audi A8 starts from 187 000$, not to mention fuel prices...

[Boris S @ Jul 4th 2007 10:49AM]

Give it 3 years and the depreciation hits its affordability point... I picked up an 03 A6 2.7T in 06 for 12K.

[Queitsch @ Jul 4th 2007 5:38AM]

HORST also happens to be a German surname. Mostly a hilarious one.

[Korsakow @ Jul 4th 2007 6:37AM]

Actually its a slightly antiquated FIRST name. Using it as an acronym for seriously expensive technology is indeed hilarious...

[lejupp @ Jul 4th 2007 9:27AM]

Using antiquated first names for tech stuff seems to become a trend in Germany. The best selling DSL router over here is called the "Fritz Box" and there is already a competitor selling a "Horst Box". I guess Audi is jumping on the bandwagon here.

[TTX1 @ Jul 4th 2007 9:33AM]

Horst was also the name of one of the original predecessor companies to Audi (Auto Union)...

[Karl @ Jul 4th 2007 7:19PM]

@TTX1

No, the guy's name was August Horch. The name Audi came from the Latin translation of his name which means "listen."

[TTX1 @ Jul 4th 2007 9:33AM]

reminds me of the Alesis ProLinear monitors with DSP to emulate other monitors such as Genelec, Yamaha, etc...

[Jeremy Moses @ Jul 4th 2007 11:15AM]

ahem - when Audi engineers have great ideas, what appears over their heads are not light bulbs, but power-saving LEDs. They're a bright bunch of folks is what I'm saying.

[August @ Jul 4th 2007 12:26PM]

E63 for my money, folks.

[Brian @ Jul 4th 2007 12:37PM]

At MIT, I worked on a concept for a hydrogen car for one of the major automotive manufacturers. Because of the high torque and immediate power of an electric vehicle, it is relatively simple to to match the acceleration characteristics of many car types. Moreover, drive-by-wire systems allow a vehicle like this to match the handling of other vehicle types (especially when paired with a shock and steering column force feedback system to mimmic weight characteristic effects).

One of our concepts was to provide an open tool-set where purchasers of the car could modify their ride characteristics in a similar fashion to tweaking a car in ran Tourismo and share their profiles online to download to their respective vehicles. The idea was that, in the beginning, user created rides would be approximations of other vehicles (such as a Lotus). But, as users became more comfortable with the unique characteristics of an electric vehicle, they would find and create more interesting ride profiles. It would be the ultimate customization.

Kudos to Audi, but it will be done better when (if) the hydrogen cars come out.

[Jacob Kennedy @ Jul 4th 2007 2:06PM]

Now THAT makes perfect sense. Making electric cars handle and drive like gas cars would jump one of the major hurdles for people who like to drive (as opposed to those who are concerned about the environment).

[el Toro @ Jul 4th 2007 12:54PM]

They still won't be able to compete with the real thing...BMW

[niburig @ Jul 4th 2007 4:25PM]

Audi power!

[Juaquin @ Jul 5th 2007 2:29PM]

While they may be able to make their suspension a little more spry, they're never going to make that car actually handle like an Elise. Very few cars handle like an Elise, and none weigh as much as that thing. There's also the frame length, aerodynamics, and all sorts of other things that factor into handling besides just suspension. Good idea, but over-hyped.

[empurium @ Jul 5th 2007 9:05PM]

I completely agree, but it would be kind of cool to have "luxury", and "get me to work in 4 minutes flat" suspension modes.

[zustech @ Jul 6th 2007 12:24AM]

AUDI IS STEPPING THEIR GAME UP
2008 RS6 WITH AN ESTIMATED 580HP

[sarah @ Jul 26th 2007 5:11PM]

Lots Audi & TT key chains here: http://www.lemaxmall.com/shop/rings-audi-keychain-c-29_40.html