In an era when combustion cars are striving to be more powerful and electric cars are striving to be more efficient, we seldom hear of a new vehicle that headlines its lighting system first and foremost. Especially in the United States, where lighting laws are a bit more stringent, there’s minimal fluctuation outside of the shape of the lamp covering. Well, Audi has just unveiled a new prototype that explores the world of headlights and taillights a little further, including letting you customize it yourself.
Audi has always had some of the more attractive lighting designs but the e-tron version of the Q6 is next-level. Aiming to improve road safety along with stylish aesthetics, the vehicle sports a second-generation digital OLED display for the taillights and Matrix LED for the headlights. For the front, the lights have been designed to reduce glare on objects such as signs for better visibility. As for the rear, utilizing six 60-segment OLED panels (as opposed to 6-segment panels of the gen-one OLED), the lights can now communicate specific messages to the cars behind and around you — an industry first. For instance, if you’re about to exit the car, it can warn other cars or approaching bicyclists that you’re going to open the door.
To customize the design of the lights, there are eight digital light signatures for both front and back — also the first vehicle to ever offer such a thing — that you can choose from on-demand via the multimedia interface or Audi app, with more available to purchase. Previously, Audi customers could only customize the signature of the rear lights, with only up to four options available until now.
As Audi anticipates including its new lighting technology in future production models, the Q6 e-tron is, for now, just a prototype. To learn more, head over to Audi’s press release for the vehicle.
