Audi’s ground-breaking electric R8 e-tron sports car, which enters low-volume production later this year, has no rear window. There’s a rear-vision problem you might think.
Nope, Audi has solved that one, fitting the R8 e-tron with a camera system to display the rear-vision on a screen for easy viewing.
Developed for the German giant’s R18 Le Mans race cars, the rear-view camera system produced a pin-sharp, high-contrast image and at night, automatically adjusts to compensate for dazzle from following headlights. The driver can also manually dim or even de-activate the image is desired.
The small camera provides a much larger field of vision than a conventional rear-view mirror and has its own heating element to ensure clear vision even in sub-zero temperatures. Digital images are displayed inside the cockpit on a 7.7-inch colour monitor.
Audi has proved the reliability of the camera system in the most grueling of conditions – the Le Mans 24-hour race where its R18 racers finished first, second and third.
