One of the more interesting developments in the past couple of years has been the announcement by BMW and now Audi of adding laser lights to their signature headlights vehicles. The new Audi Sport Quattro Laser Headlight Plug-in Hybrid Concept is the latest addition to this new development and will be fully on display at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

While the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid will be the first production vehicle to showcase laser lights, the Audio Sport Quattro will not be far behind and given the success of the concept, it is certain that future vehicles will have laser lighting as part of their auto accessories.

What is a Laser Head-Lamp?

Essentially, this type of lighting system combines LEDs or light emitting diodes with laser light that is located inside each dual-element light. As with traditional headlights, this concept divides the LEDs into the low beam and high beam functions as the lights are combined into a matrix for use with the lasers.

The laser generating diodes are quite small, but their light output is very remarkable allowing for a pattern to stretch up to 1/3rd of a mile in distance. This is over twice to three times the luminosity of today’s already considerable LED lights.

The Advantages of Laser Light for Vehicles

For the new Audi Sport Quattro Plug-In Hybrid, BMW i8 and other vehicles, the laser lighting concept offers definite advantages for consumers.

Far Greater Distance

Energy Efficient

With headlights that reach up to 1/3rd of a mile, this means far greater advanced warning of any objects or potential hazards in the road at night. This means more reaction time to correctly address any issue that might come up. Greater awareness equals greater safety on the roadway.Despite their considerable luminosity, the laser light system uses on a fraction of the power that traditional incandescent lights use. This is why for plug-in hybrid vehicles laser lighting is the perfect solution since it takes up much less power.

Greater Awareness

One of the more subtle advantages of having such powerful headlights is that other drivers are now aware of you at greater distances. This means better preparation time and the knowledge that your vehicle is present on the roadways also leads to greater safety as well.

So potent is the laser lighting concept that Audi has announced that it will be present on their new R18 e-tron Quattro Le Mans racing vehicles. Audi believes that if the laser light system in their custom headlights designed works well on cars going over 200 mph, then they should be more than adequate for standard consumer vehicles as well.

The Audi Sport Quattro Plug-In Hybrid

This new vehicle from Audi also features some impressive advantages of its own. From V8 engine that generates 560 hp that is now added to the electric motor, the total power is a remarkable 700 hp which means it can go from 0 to 62 mph in 3.7 seconds and reach a top speed of 190 mph. The power itself is transmitted through an eight speed tiptronic gearbox to all the wheels and can drive on battery power alone for up to 31 miles.

However, the new Sport Quattro Hybrid is actually shorter than the Audi A4, albeit a few inches wider. Still, all this power is packed into one remarkable vehicle that boasts new laser light technology as well.

Photo Credit: Audi