i3 - March/April 2021 - 15

The Audi RS e-tron
GT prototype.

years, and new models like GM's Hummer
EV signal how the category will evolve into
an electrified future, he noted.
Read on for some of the CES 2021 car
tech highlights.

NEW VEHICLES AND
EXPERIENCES FROM
STALWARTS AND A STARTUP

from proliferating 5G communications networks, Koenig said. Self-driving
vehicles and associated business models, like robotaxis and mobility-asa-service (MaaS), are being spurred by " a broader context of just autonomous systems in general, " he said.
At CES 2021, this encompassed sidewalk delivery robots - for example, one introduced by General Motors CEO Mary Barra during her
keynote on January 12. And much of Barra's presentation revolved
around what Koenig identified as the fourth major car tech trend at
CES, vehicle electrification. " Of course we know there's no shortage
of market projections around market size and growth in different
countries and regions around the world, " he declared. Yet, there's
definitely one type of electric vehicle (EV) that stands out as critically important, " at least to the U.S. electric vehicle market, "
Koenig added, pointing to trucks. Pickup trucks like the Ford
F-150 have been the best-selling vehicle type in the U.S. for

C TA . t e c h / i 3

i3_0321_14-17_Feature_CarTechRoundup.indd 15

Audi presented the RS e-tron GT Prototype
in a CES Spotlight Session from the Audi
Driving Experience Center racetrack in
Neuburg, Germany, featuring a performance demonstration by Lucas di Grassi,
Audi race team driver, FIA Formula E
World Champion in 2016 and 2017, and a
United Nations Environment Ambassador.
It's a four-door, fully electric, high-performance Gran Turismo (sport touring) car
with a design that resembles the Audi A7,
only sleeker. Its two-motor powertrain generates 475 kilowatts of power from an 800volt system, resulting in 10,690
neuton-meters of torque at the wheels, said
Siegfried Pint, head of powertrain development at Audi, who led the vehicle project
for the past five years. Though racetrack
ready - with four-wheel steering as well as
all-wheel drive - the car will be just as suitable for runs to the grocery store when it
eventually comes to market, Pint added. It's
also the first battery-electric Audi based on
a low floor architecture, making it
2.5-inches lower at the roofline than an A7,
noted Marc Lichte, head of design at Audi,
who led that aspect of the project.
BMW previewed the next generation of
its iDrive infotainment system, which will
be officially unveiled later this year and
arrive first in the forthcoming iX battery
electric vehicle (BEV). It will tap into the
vehicle's sensors and communicate with
other BMWs and cloud-based services to
receive and display hazard warnings and
make predictions on the availability of
parking spaces at a destination. The iX
also will be the first BMW to feature a
14.9-inch curved high-resolution

MARCH/APRIL 2021

3/11/21 12:30 PM

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i3 - March/April 2021

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