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Audi Put the RS7 Autonomous Prototype On a Diet, It Lost 400 Kg

Audi have to be praised for a lot of things regarding their RS7 autonomous vehicle revealed last year, but before that happens, the German carmaker wants to make sure complacency doesn't become an issue.
Audi RS7 Autonomous Vehicle 9 photos
Photo: Audi
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Therefore, the brand with the four rings came up with an updated versions of the Audi RS7 driverless prototype.

Changes affect both the exterior and the hidden 'organs' of the car, but let's start with appearance, the most noticeable sector where changes were operated by Audi staff.

The car's outer shell is now decorated with a red & black color theme with matching rims, but it was also the subject of a weight-loss plan that seemed to have worked wonders.

We're saying that because the self-driving vehicle lost 881.8 lbs (roughly 400 kg) compared to the initial prototype nicknamed "Bobby". However, Audi doesn't want to reveal how they cut down the extra weight, but the autonomous RS7 now rebaptised Robby is relying on the same twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine capable of delivering no less than 560 horsepower and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque.

The weight reduction should allow the piloted car to brake, steer and accelerate much better on the track.

But Audi are not going to limit their self-driving cars to just going round and round on a circuit. As you might remember, Jack – an Audi A7 piloted driving concept with many near-production solutions – drove on public highways from Silicon Valley to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and managed to reach a top speed of 80.8 mph (130 km/h) on German autobahns.

Audi will offer piloted driving for the first time in the upcoming generation of the Audi A8, so it's only natural for them to update and improve the technology before putting it in production cars.
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