Volkswagen and Stanford University go way back, having collaborated on two cool autonomous cars for DARPA, and now they've gone in together on a laboratory where researchers and students will develop technology they say will lead to safer, greener cars.

The German automaker, through Volkswagen Group of America, is investing $5.75 million in the Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Laboratory to spur the creation of new automotive tech. Along with VW’s Electronics Research Laboratory in Palo Alto, VAIL gives VW the largest Silicon Valley research presence of any automaker.

“This collaboration can draw on a long-standing relationship between the Volkswagen Group and Stanford, which continues to increase the exchange between industrial and academic talent,” Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen, chairman and CEO of Bentley Motors, said in a statement. (VW owns Bentley.) “The goals are to accelerate automotive-related research on campus, increase opportunities for collaboration between the VW Group and Stanford and build a global community of academic and industrial partners committed to the future of automotive research.”

VW has been working with Stanford since at least 2005, when the two collaborated on Stanley, an autonomous Touareg that won the DARPA Grand Challenge that year. Stanley is now on display at the Smithsonian. It was followed in 2007 by Junior, a Passat that was runner up in the DARPA Urban Challenge. That's Junior in the main pic, being driven sans hands.

Volkswagen, through Audi, also has developed an autonomous TT-S, pictured below, that will attempt to conquer Pike's Peak sometime next year. That's an audacious goal, given the 12.42-mile course to the 14,110-foot summit features 156 turns and is among the greatest challenges in motorsports.

Volkswagen's investment at Stanford includes $2 million for building construction and $750,000 annually for five years to fund research and teaching activities.

“When the new building opens early next year, VAIL will provide a home on campus for faculty and students from around the university to work on advanced automotive research," said Jim Plummer, dean of the Stanford School of Engineering. "Transportation is a globally important area in which engineers play a vital role.”

The partners look at VAIL and ERL as an exclusive, combined learning laboratory where Stanford researchers and students as well as visiting scholars will work alongside automotive equipment manufacturers and Silicon Valley experts to foster innovation.

VW and Stanford hope to build on their DARPA partnership and want to leverage their success with Stanley and Junior in a variety of applications. Volkswagen also plans to work on further development of its Audi Clean Air Initiative. The company's sees a future where linked, intelligent vehicles interact with each other to increase safety and ease the environmental impact of automobiles

“By partnering with a prestigious university such as Stanford, we’ve built a global community of academic and industry professionals that are committed to the future of automotive research,” said Dr. Burkhard Huhnke, executive director of the Electronics Research Laboratory. “Our event is intended to showcase the successful partnership between VW and Stanford that has helped drive automobile innovation into the future.”

Photos: Volkswagen

The Pike's Peak Audi TT-S, an autonomous vehicle that VW hopes will scale the famous peak sometime next year.