2012 Audi R8 5.2, Clean Carfax, 2 Owners, Xenon, Nav, Loaded, Beautiful! on 2040-cars

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Audi R8 Exclusive Edition gets laser beam headlights

We've long lamented the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's draconian Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which contrary to their name, have actually prevented automakers from selling some substantial and important safety equipment, like advanced headlights, in the US market. Until now, apparently. To be fair, we've known Audi was prepping its advanced laser headlights for the US market, but that doesn't make their arrival any less exciting. Audi will begin offering DOT-approved high-beams that use advanced laser diodes on a limited run of V10-powered R8s. Exclusive to the, um, Exclusive Edition R8, the advanced lamps complement the standard LED low beams and dynamic front turn signals, offering "very bright and pure white light" for 25 lucky consumers. Here's some more techno babble about how the lights work – according to Audi's official release, there's a laser module in each headlight containing four high intensity laser diodes that fire out blue lasers. Then, a phosphor converter adjusts the 450-nanometer laser into visible light that fires up above 40 miles per hour. "When conditions permit," Audi's release reads, the laser high beams "greatly enhance visibility for the driver by projecting a low and wide beam of light on the road ahead." Naturally, we have questions, but Audi wasn't keen on releasing much info ahead of the R8 Exclusive Edition's Los Angeles Auto Show debut. The company confirmed that the new lights are DOT approved, which makes sense considering the LA introduction. We're also wondering how Audi's new Laser Lights differ from BMW's similarly named Laserlight system, offered on the i8. Both setups use lasers to replace conventional high beams, but BMW says it "adjusted to the maximum allowable light output for the US market." Audi was cagey about explaining if it modified the system to satisfy the feds. Ingolstadt also offered the typical "we don't comment on future product" when asked about future applications for its laser headlight technology. Beyond the advanced high-beam headlights, the R8 Exclusive Edition comes standard with Quantum Grey paint, 20-inch "Y Design" wheels, a carbon-fiber side blade with an orange stripe, and a whole bunch of interior trim upgrades, like full leather upholstery and Alcantara trim. Price start at $229,200, not counting $1,250 in destination charges. We'll have more on the R8 and its laser lamps when it debuts in a couple weeks. Related Video:

Is Audi readying hardcore final edition R8?

The days may be numbered on the current Audi R8, but if our latest round of spy photos is any indication, Audi's first supercar is going to go out with a bang. This camo'd tester was spotted parked somewhere in Europe, and if doesn't at least belie a faster R8, it certainly indicates that a more aerodynamically intense model is coming.
The tall rear wing is the most obvious aerodynamic change. It's joined out back by a none-too-subtle diffuser and the cannon-like exhausts of the R8 V10 Plus, while the front and side of this particular R8 are home to new side sills and winglets on the lower front fascia.
We'll be keeping our ears to the ground for any more on what looks to be another variation of first-generation Audi supercar. Until then, let us know what you think this car may foreshadow. A new halo model? A gentleman racer? Have your say below.

Why we can't have better headlights here in the U.S.

It wouldn't be a European auto show if we weren't teased with at least one mainstream vehicle we can't have here. At the Geneva Motor Show last week, the small but vocal contingent of shooting-brake buffs lamented that the Mazda6 wagon won't be coming to our shores, although they can take comfort in the fact that the vehicle won't get the torquey 250-horsepower 2.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine we'll get here. Mercedes-Benz also announced a new headlight technology in Geneva that likely won't be available here anytime soon. It's just the latest in a long line of innovative and potentially lifesaving front-lighting solutions that the federal government doesn't allow in this country due to outdated standards — and a current lack of leadership at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Mercedes-Benz's new Digital Light system that debuted in Geneva uses a computer chip to activate more than a million micro-reflectors to better illuminate the road ahead. The Digital Light headlamps works with the vehicle's cameras, sensors and navigation mapping to adjust lighting for the given location and situation and to detect other road users. The Digital Light technology also serves as an extended head-up display of sorts by projecting symbols on the pavement ahead to alert drivers to, say, slippery conditions or pedestrians in the road. And it can even project lines on the road in a construction zone or through tight curves to show the driver the correct path. Digital Light will be available on Mercedes-Maybach vehicles later this year, although like any technology it's bound to trickle down to less expensive vehicles. That is, if we ever get it here in the U.S. Audi, a leader in automotive lighting, has repeatedly run into snags trying to bring state-of-the-art car headlights to the U.S. The German luxury automaker's recently introduced matrix laser headlight system, which performs many of the same trick as Mercedes-Benz's Digital Light, also isn't legal on U.S. roads. And five years after the introduction of its matrix-beam LED lighting, which illuminates more of the road without blinding oncoming motorists with brights by simultaneously operating high and low beams, Audi still can't bring that technology to the U.S. either.