Autonomous Audi TTS Pikes Peak - Peak Performance

This is the TT that doesn’t need a driver. Full name: Autonomous Audi TTS Pikes Peak. Yes, it did the whole mountainous 12.4-mile Pikes Peak hill climb all by itself, in one run. Actually, the car ran the course six times over one weekend, just to prove it wasn’t a fluke. Using sensors, GPS, a whole lot of Silicon Valley cleverness, plus 265 hp to clock a time of 27 minutes, the point of the exercise is to develop technology that can enhance a driver’s abilities, like computerized systems help the pilots of passenger airliners. Incidentally, a fairly talented pro driver who isn’t scared of a 14,000-foot drop could cover the same course in 17 minutes; the fastest guy (Nobuhiro Monster Tajima) has a time of 10 minutes and 1.04 seconds, but with a darn sight more horsepower (993 hp). Let’s see the Autonomous TTS handle the Nürburgring next.