Impressive by day and night: the lighting design

With the new Audi Q5 SUV, Audi not only underlines its leading role in lighting design and technology, but also goes one step further. The rear lights have a three-dimensional design, spectacularly bringing together the physical and digital worlds in combination with the light strip, which spans the entire width of the vehicle.

At the rear, the strikingly designed second-generation digital OLED rear lights and the projection light in the spoiler above the rear window, used for the first time in Europe, deliver increased safety. It projects a graphic into the upper rear window area, thereby enlarging the brake light area. It is also integrated into the Coming Home and Leaving Home scene when leaving and unlocking the vehicle.In the case of the second-generation digital OLED combination rearlights, the six digital OLED panels with a total of 266 segments generate a new image several times per second using a specially developed algorithm.

The exterior: elegant and progressive
The body's clean design focuses on dynamism, progressiveness, and elegance. The front is simultaneously harmonious and expressive. The slim design of the daytime running lights and the wide grille make the A6 e-tron* appear flat and wide on the road.

New standards in digital light
With the new A5, Audi is accentuating its leading role in lighting design and technology. The
headlights and rear lights have a three-dimensional design and offer optional digital light
signatures, bringing the physical and digital worlds together.

The technology sets new standards in terms of personalization: With a total of eight digital light
signatures included in the Matrix LED headlights combined with the digital OLED taillights,
customers can personalize the appearance of their A5/S5 Sedan or A5/S5 Avant like never
before.

Technical animation showcasing the new digital OLED rear lights 2.0 with increased resolution and customizable light designs as well as road safety functionality via car-to-X communication.

This technical animation illustrates the function of the LED head lights plus / matrix LED head lights as well as the booking of the Matrix Beam package and and digital light signatures via functions on demand.

For the first time, Audi is equipping the Q8 with HD Matrix LED headlights, including a laser as an additional high beam. These headlights feature digital daytime running lights and selectable light signatures. Digital OLED rear lights with four selectable rear light designs complete the expanded light offering.

Digital Matrix LED headlights

The Q8 e-tron* optionally comes with digital Matrix LED headlights. While driving on the highway, the orientation light marks the car’s position in the lane and helps the driver remain securely in the center in narrow spaces. Three other new features are available as well: enhanced traffic information, the lane light with a direction indicator and the orientation light on country roads.

Comparable with video projectors, the Digital Matrix LED headlights use DMD (digital micromirror device) technology. Each headlight has approximately 1.3 million micromirrors, which disperse the light in tiny pixels and precisely control them.

The next stage of evolution in daytime running lights is totally new among the competition. Using the MMI touch operating system, the driver can switch between four digital light signatures at any time. Each of them generates its own theme and lends the daytime running lights an individual expression. The variant selected is activated the next time the vehicle is started.

The headlights and rear lights are characteristic elements of the exterior design of the e-tron GT that further enhance the expressive exterior design. The LED light signatures at the front and rear feature pronounced three-dimensional modeling and emphasize the emotive look of the e-tron GT.

The lights of an Audi no longer serve the mere purpose of providing illumination. They create a new customer experience by pioneering external communication including social interaction as well as enabling a wide variety of lighting design choices.

Previously unknown prospects are now opening up in the wake of digitizing headlights and rear lights: light becomes a medium of external communication and interaction, personalizes design, and provides customers with new styling and customization options.

​Even in the standard version, the revised Q2 illuminates the road with LED headlights, and Audi will install the new Matrix LED headlights upon request.

Next-generation OLED lighting technology is available for the first time ever in the modified Q5. OLEDs are extremely efficient organic light-emitting diodes that generate a homogenous light surface. The optional OLED rear light is split into three tiles of six segments each, which enables Audi designers and developers to create different light designs and signatures from a single item of hardware.

Distinctive: design and lighting

The new Audi A3 Sportback features compact proportions and a sporty design.

Its digital matrix LED headlights are a new feature now available for the first time in a mass-production vehicle. Their light is broken down into tiny pixels and can be controlled with exceptional precision. This makes safe lane centering easier on narrow stretches of road and shows the position of the vehicle in the lane.

The A7 Sportback is a testament to Audi’s leading role in lighting technology and lighting design. The Gran Turismo’s headlights are available in three versions: in LED technology, as HD Matrix LED and as HD Matrix LED with Audi laser light.

For the first time in a series-production Audi, Matrix OLED technology (organic light emitting diode) is used in the rear lights as an option. These emit an extremely homogeneous, precise light. The light does not cast any harsh shadows and does not require any reflectors – this makes the OLEDs in 3D design efficient, lightweight and visually impressive. Each rear light contains four wafer-thin units that become smaller from the inside out. The biggest bears the TT logo and the four Audi rings.

The laser spot doubles the range of the high-beam light. In each headlight there is a module with four powerful laser diodes that are just 300 micrometers in diameter. They generate a blue laser beam with a wavelength of 450 nanometers. A phosphorus converter converts it into white light with a color temperature of 5,500 Kelvin that is pleasing to the human eye. The laser spot – which is active outside of urban areas at speeds of 60 km/h (37.3 mph) and above – offers tremendous advantages in terms of visibility and safety to drivers. An intelligent camera-based sensor system detects other road users and actively adjusts the light pattern to dim the light intensity specifically for them.

419 kW (570 hp), from 0 to 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in 3.4 seconds: The Audi R8 LMX (12.9 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers [18.2 US mpg]; 299 grams CO₂ per kilometer [481.2 g/mile]) offers breathtaking performance and groundbreaking technology.** The limited-edition car is the first production car in the world to come equipped with laser high beams.

In lighting technology, Audi is driving progress at high tempo. The innovative Matrix LED Headlights in the new Audi A8 (Combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 11.3 – 5.9; Combined CO₂-emissions in g/km: 264 - 144)** make driving more composed than ever and set new benchmarks with respect to design and technology.

Audi is further extending its lead in automotive lighting technology. In the sponsored project “intelligent laser light for compact and high-resolution adaptive headlights” (iLaS), the brand with the four rings is working on the headlights of the future with partners from industry and science. Matrix Laser technology and its high resolution will make roadway illumination even more flexible and highly versatile – in all situations.
Matrix Laser technology is based on the LaserSpot for high‑beam lamps, which Audi first introduced to production in the Audi R8 LMX. For the first time, bright lasers are making it possible to integrate projector technology in a compact and powerful headlight.

The adaptive light is an Audi technology for the xenon plus headlights and is available in a number of different versions. In the top models its controller manages the swiveling modules so that they always deliver the perfect light for urban, interurban and highway driving. The driver can precisely control the function of the adaptive light via the Audi drive select driving dynamics system. The all-weather light integrated into the headlight replaces the fog light.

Rear lights using LED technology are available either as standard or as an option in all Audi models. They produce a distinctive light pattern that in many cases also produces attractive three-dimensional effects. The LEDs are extremely long-lasting and practically maintenance-free. The most important thing, however, is how extremely quickly they reach their full luminosity: if the driver has to brake suddenly, the driver behind gains valuable fractions of a second.

The LED headlights are an area of technology in which Audi is well ahead of the competition. They were introduced in 2008 on the R8 high-performance sports car; since then the brand with the four rings has repeatedly extended its lead.

The daytime running lights of white light-emitting diodes are an Audi feature that underscores the distinctive design of the vehicles while simultaneously enhancing safety. They first appeared in 2004 in the Audi A8 W12. The luxury sedan had a light unit comprising five LEDs in each headlight.

Xenon headlights are gas discharge lamps. Two tungsten electrodes are sealed in the burner, a thick-walled quartz glass cylinder filled with xenon gas. A concentrated electric arc burns between the electrodes, and the inert gas filling exerts a pressure of as much as 100 bar (1,450.38 psi). The xenon gas itself gives off a somewhat violet light. Metallic salts in the filling of the gas cylinder reduce its color temperature to 4,200 Kelvin.

37 light-emitting diodes in each of the headlights of the new R8 Spyder produce a bright LED light that can be augmented with the optional Audi laser light. A module with four high-power laser diodes, each of which is just 300 micrometers in diameter, emit a blue laser beam with a wavelength of 450 nanometers. A phosphor converter converts it into white light with a color temperature of 5,500 Kelvin, which is pleasant to the human eye.

Even in the standard version, the revised Q2 illuminates the road with LED headlights, and Audi will install the new Matrix LED headlights upon request.