Audi R8 to be the first car to light public roads with laser-enhanced lights

It might look like just another Audi R8, but Ingolstadt tells us this one is different: it is the limited edition Audi R8 LMX with laser-enhanced LED high-beam headlights. Audi introduced the laserlight technology on its R18 E-tron Quattro LMP1 race car and then promised a production version of it at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. The eyes on the R8 LMX employ the same method when traveling above 37.3 miles per hour, utilizing a tiny laser module in each headlight that, after conversion to white light, can throw a beam about 1,640 feet down the road.

German one-upmanship never ceases to amaze. In a mad scramble, Audi will be the first automaker to push a production car with laser headlights to the road, not BMW. Called the R8 LMX, the limited-run supercar will go on sale this summer. And although only 99 examples will ever be built, it will stand as the world’s first production car to illuminate the road ahead with lasers. The Audi R8, originally released in 2007, is nearing the end of its lifespan. That doesn’t mean, however, that Audi has given up on its aging supercar. As the Lamborghini-based Teutonic rocketship nears the end of the line, Audi has decided to give it an extremely limited special edition. It’s a fitting send-off, as it’ll embarrass BMW, Audi’s chief competitor, and also reignite the fervor surrounding the R8 before the second-gen is unveiled.