Audi e-tron to get world-first virtual door mirrors

They’ve been a feature of concept cars for decades. Now Audi’s bringing them to showrooms

Audi E-tron virtual door mirrorsFor what seems like decades, concept cars have been shown with fancy, tiny ‘virtual’ door mirrors. Only to then make production looking largely identical – save for the addition of massive ‘Dumbo ears’ on each door. But now, Audi is making every concept car designer’s dream a reality, with the world’s first production-ready virtual door mirrors.

They’re appearing on the new Audi e-tron, which will be revealed this summer ahead of production starting later this year. At this stage, they’ll be a (likely expensive) option, rather than standard fit, but it’s still proof that Vorsprung durch Technik is alive and well after all at Audi.

The firm says they’re much narrower than normal door mirrors – they reduce the overall width of the e-tron by a healthy 150mm. They also reduce drag and, most noticeably, significantly reduce wind noise.

So how do they work? Via built-in cameras, which feed to high-resolution OLED displays mounted between the dashboard and the door. 

Audi says they adapt to different driving situations, displaying three different views through the MMI system – there are bespoke displays for motorway driving, turning and parking. 

We’ll get more details of Audi’s virtual door mirrors in the build-up to the car’s official release in the coming months – including details of how Audi’s going to overcome European legislation that still mandates at least one physical exterior rear-view mirror (Japan has, however, already altered legislation to allow cameras instead of mirrors: others are expected to follow its lead). 

For now, listen carefully and you’ll probably hear the cheers in advanced car design studios across the world…

Related Articles

Richard Aucock
Richard Aucockhttps://www.richardaucock.co.uk/
Richard is director at Motoring Research. He has been with us since 2001, and has been a motoring journalist even longer. He won the IMCO Motoring Writer of the Future Award in 1996 and the acclaimed Sir William Lyons Award in 1998. Both awards are run by the Guild of Motoring Writers and Richard is currently vice chair of the world's largest organisation for automotive media professionals. Richard is also a juror and Steering Committee director for World Car Awards and the UK juror for the AUTOBEST awards.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Find a Car Review

Latest

Kia EV9 is World Car of the Year 2024

The Kia EV9 is the latest pure electric car to be named World Car of the Year – and it also scooped the World Electric Vehicle 2024 prize

How to protect your car with an OBD port locking device

We explain how to prevent your car being stolen by criminals targeting its On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) port.

Salon Privé London to host three days of champagne and supercars

Salon Privé London returns to the Royal Hospital in Chelsea next month, with special celebrations of McLaren and the Porsche 911 Turbo.

New Volkswagen ID.Buzz GTX gets 340hp and all-wheel drive

The retro-styled ID. Buzz people carrier is now offered with 340hp, making for an unlikely addition to Volkswagen’s sporty GTX range.