The Virtual Mirrors on the Audi E-Tron are Futuristically Cool

TopSpeed

By Kirby Garlitos

Published Jul 10, 2018

Here's to hoping we see it sooner than later

The Audi E-Tron may be the first Audi to feature all-electric capabilities, but it’s also the first production Audi model to feature cameras in place of traditional side mirrors. The technology is called the Audi Virtual Mirror, and it is obnoxiously cool. The setup involves a pair of small cameras sitting in the place where the mirrors should be. The camera then feed visual signal to two small touch-screen display units near the door handles, both of which can be configured in a variety of ways.

Not only are the optics of it cool, it also represents a new way of using cameras on vehicles that have largely been disallowed among road cars for various reasons. More importantly, the aerodynamic benefits of using virtual mirrors will also help Audi improve the E-Tron's coefficient of drag, in large part because the size of these cameras will allow Audi to design thinner casings to store them in. The days of large clunky casings appear to be over in what can only be described as a classic case of reinventing the wheel to accommodate the rise of modern technology. The Audi Virtual Mirrors look awesome and if it ends up on the production version of the E-Tron, expect it to find its way into other future Audi models sooner than later.

Unfortunately, the arrest of Audi CEO Rupert Stadler scuttled plans to have the electric crossover debut at the Audi Summit in Brussels, Belgium on August 30. Hopefully, the delay doesn’t take too long because we can’t wait to see the Virtual Mirror in action on an actual production model.

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