Audi Digital Rearview Mirror From R18 to R8 E-Tron

AudiAudiGermany, 1909 > present83 models
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, though, might have just set a record for bringing technology from the racetrack to the road. It launched the R18 E-Tron QuattroAudi R18 e-tron quattroGermany, 2012 > present8 photos
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and R18 UltraAudi R18 ultraGermany, 2012 > present11 photos
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with a rear-facing camera for the rearview mirror. Audi has announced that the R8 E-TronAudi R8 e-tronGermany, 2011 > present3 photos
will also get a video screen linked to a rear-facing camera instead of a conventional rearview mirror. 

The R8 E-Tron has no conventional rear window. Instead, Audi has mounted a camera to the rear in a protected, heated area that sends a signal to a screen where a conventional rearview mirror would be. 

Audi says that the color image sent to the 7.7in diagonal screen has high contrast that dims during the night to not distract the driver. The AMOLED screen to produced by Samsung. The system requires no backlight, which keeps power consumption down. 

Audi intalled the camera in the 2012 R18 because drivers complained about poor visibiilty in the 2011 carAudi R18Germany, 2011 > present7 photos
1 video
. 

The old cliché about racecars is that technology developed for racing trickles down to road cars, but oftentimes this is not really true. In the modern era, Formula 1 tech rarely makes its way to the road, and Nascar has not brought any technology to the road for decades. However, prototype and sports car racing is the exception. ToyotaToyotaJapan, 1937 > present155 models
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is using super capacitors on the TS030Toyota TS030 HYBRIDJapan, 2012 > present5 photos
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, and LamborghiniLamborghiniItaly, 1963 > present32 models
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is rumored to be using it for the start/stop system on the AventadorLamborghini Aventador LP ...Italy, 2011 > present55 photos
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.