For the past couple of decades, Audi has been one of the biggest pioneers of automotive lighting technology, starting design trends and introducing features that have spread across the industry. The original R8 debuted in 2006 with dotted LED daytime running lights that looked spectacular, and the B8 A4 and first-gen A5 brought the look to the mainstream in 2007. The 2009 R8 V10 was the first car in the world with full-LED headlamps, the 2013 A8 facelift was the first car to feature advanced matrix LED headlights, and the second-gen R8 introduced laser headlights in 2017, all of which were landmarks in lighting achievement.
Now, the Q4 E-Tron takes Audi’s lighting game to an even higher level with configurable DRLs where drivers can choose between four different light signature designs in the headlights. It’s the first time this feature has been offered in a car, and while it might seem like a minor gimmick to some, after testing the car for a week I adore it. Lighting technology is one of the most exciting aspects of modern car design to me, so to learn more about it I hopped on a Zoom call with Anthony Garbis, senior manager of product planning at Audi of America.
The Q4’s DRLs are selectable through a menu in the infotainment screen, and after choosing which one you want the ignition has to be cycled. There’s no name for each design, just numbers, but the screen displays what the DRL looks like. The default style features four short segments of light above the central light bar that’s always on, but my favorite of the bunch has a checkered flag motif. One design illuminates every lower section of the lamp, and the last has two central lights above and below that create an eye-like look. While every Q4 E-Tron comes standard with LED headlights, you have to jump to the top-end Prestige level to gain the matrix LED lights that have the configurable DRLs.
[Editor’s Note: It’s hard to read this without wondering why Audi stopped short of letting drivers set their own LED matrix patterns by choosing which individual LEDs are on. Once you can pick patterns, you’d think it would be trivial to offer some simple interface to let owners define their own LED matrix light signatures. Sure, the current matrices are pretty low-resolution, but that’s likely to improve with time, and something like this should be quite do-able:
Maybe Audi thinks people will just draw pixelated dicks all the time and they don’t want to deal with that. I guess I can’t blame them. – JT]
Cars used to just have low beams and high beams, and that was it. “We went from halogens to xenons to LEDs in under 20 years, it was a massive transformation,” Garbis said.
Xenons brought a huge improvement in terms of visibility while LEDs introduced better, more neutral color temperatures and much greater efficiency. Every new lighting advancement has increased visibility and reduced energy consumption—LEDs are much more efficient than halogens and produce less heat—with the latest matrix lights introducing additional safety features too. But as lighting tech has improved in terms of functionality, the styling impact has become even larger as well.
“Lighting used to be just so you could see and be seen, now it’s really part of the design statement and personalization of the vehicle for customers,” Garbis said. Personalization is one of the key points that luxury buyers look for, as evidenced by the success of Audi’s Exclusive program that lets customers choose custom exterior paints, leather colors and other unique features for their cars. “It’s in demand for our customers because they wanna make sure they don’t pull up at a light next to someone in the exact same car as them,” he says, “we have the technology to be able to do it, so we put it out to our customers. It keeps your car fresh.”
More than ever before lighting is used to create a corporate identity throughout a brand’s lineup, so even at night you can tell it’s an Audi up ahead. “There’s so much brand image in marketing associated with lighting, it’s instant recognition for Audi, and that to me is super cool,” Garbis said, “That’s the sign of good design, that you can instantly identify the brand.” He mentions BMW’s ‘angel eye’ headlight rings as a great example of this. The design of each Audi model’s light signatures is tied into the overall themes for the car, so RS models will have more aggressive lights while E-Tron models get a more tech-forward approach.
It’s not just headlights that play a factor in light design these days. “Mercedes-Benz kind of turned the world on its head when they started illuminating the star,” Garbis said, “Once that happened, now you see everyone’s illuminating the front of their cars.”
[Editor’s Note: Easy there, Garbis. Illuminated badges have been a thing long before Mercedes-Benz did it. – JT]
The Cadillac Escalade IQ is one amazing example, where the entire ‘grille’ panel is lit up with thin geometric lines of light. Audi is no different, offering illumination as an accessory option for its four-ring logo in some models, and the updated Q8 E-Tron (previously just the E-Tron) has a light bar running across the front end.
The Mercedes star and its offspring are an interesting case of working around an outdated law. An U.S. safety rule from the 1970s says you cannot have more than four lights on at a time at the front of a vehicle, so the light-up star isn’t actually a light projecting outwards—it’s being projected inwards, essentially illuminating backwards.
[Editor’s Note: I’m not entirely sure about this assertion; some states do have this rule, though how it applies to a dual-headlamp car running high beams and with parking lights illuminated isn’t clear to me. Plus, cars like the Mercury Sable had full-width front light bars that had multiple bulbs inside them; perhaps it was considered one light? But even so, with headlights and parking lights on, that’d be five lights. I think the takeaway here is that American automotive lighting regulations can be a bit Byzantine. –JT]
That ties into the biggest issue with modern headlights in the US: outdated regulations. “It’s at the point that we need to catch up with the times,” Garbis said., “We’re working very hard to lobby and adapt these archaic regulations, because it’s a benefit for everyone.” In Europe, where headlight regulations are much more progressive, matrix headlights have dynamic high beams that bend around other cars and pedestrians while still illuminating the empty road around them, but that functionality isn’t allowed in America. The latest digital matrix lights are capable of even more wild things, like projecting a crosswalk in front of the car for pedestrians. “No one could have ever possibly thought about this 60 years ago when the lighting regulations were done,” he adds, “that’s why it needs to be updated to allow these functionalities for our roads.”
Audi’s matrix lights use the same front camera and sensors as the car’s other safety systems to detect obstacles ahead, and every car equipped with the matrix lights has the same inherent functionality no matter what country it’s sold in. Welcome projections are currently allowed, at least, where the headlights do a dance upon unlocking the car and project animations, logos and other designs on the road or wall in front of the car. “For now I settle for just the glam of it rather than the functionality while you’re driving,” Garbis says in reference to his personal Q8 E-Tron.
When the laws do get updated, though, every Audi equipped with matrix headlights will have the advanced functions activated through a software update. NHTSA recently approved a law allowing adaptive headlights, but it doesn’t mesh with the SAE standard that Audi and other automakers use, further complicating matters and making it harder for the tech to be activated. But Garbis says the existence of the hardware is a selling point to customers even if they can’t take full advantage of the tech yet. “Customers now are very interested in the tech that goes into the car,” he says, “and we’re very good at it, because we were also the first to do it.”
Audi’s next major lighting innovations are coming in the Q6 E-Tron, which was recently previewed in camouflaged prototype form. The Q6 has second-gen digital OLED taillights that have a massive increase in resolution and 10 times the number of segments per panel compared to the first-gen units found in cars like the TT RS and Q5. The matrix LED headlights are also more complex and have a new multipixel array with 61 segments that allow for even more configurability, with owners able to choose between light signature designs either in the car’s infotainment system or through a phone app. Response times have also improved, with the lights able to make changes in design and brightness much quicker than before.
The Q6 marks the debut of Audi’s active digital light signature, which animates both the head- and taillights even when the car is in motion by brightening and dimming individual sections every ten milliseconds. Garbis describes the shimmering effect like looking at embers in a fireplace. “It’s like it’s alive, I can’t even explain it,” he says, “when I saw it for the first time, I said ‘that’s the coolest thing I’ve seen in my entire life.’”
[Editor’s Note: It’s always nice to learn about new taillight fetishists. – JT]
Beyond just looking awesome, the Q6’s lights offer new car-to-X functionality never before seen on a production car. If the Q6 detects a traffic jam or hazard ahead, it will display a warning triangle in the taillights (see video above). When a car following behind the Q6 gets too close too quickly, the taillights will instantly get brighter and flash to hopefully prevent an accident. Activate the automatic parking system and the taillights will show an arrow to let other drivers know you’re backing into a space. The shimmering animation and car-to-X features likely won’t be activated in the US at launch, but they too can be activated via OTA update if laws change.
Garbis embraces competition when it comes to lighting, too. I mention how Hyundai Motor Group is producing incredible lighting designs across its three brands, and Garbis specifically calls out the Genesis GV80 and its awesome wraparound dual lamps that extend onto the fenders. “They’re crushing their design now and doing cool stuff with lighting, and I’m all for it,” he says, “competition just makes everything better for the customers in the end and it keeps people innovating.”
The speed at which lighting innovations are happening doesn’t show any signs of slowing. “It’s truly mind-boggling how far we’ve come in just a short time,” Garbis says, “I can’t wait to see what people start doing with OLEDs now that we show them what we have planned. Who knows what we’re gonna have another 30 years from now, it’ll be crazy.”
Personally, I can’t wait.
The only DRL option I care about is “off.”
Audi’s DRL signature option is a minor gimmick to me.
“But even so, with headlights and parking lights on, that’d be five lights.”
I was assured there are four lights.
The most glaring issue with the European regulations for the taillamps, especially at night, is the lack of minimum size for the source of illumination. The European regulations only measure the strength of illumination from the certain distance and angle, regardless of how tiny the source of illumination on the taillamps is.
The newer Peugeot and Opel models have three stripes of brake lamps on each side that are about 3 cm tall and 1 cm wide each. With LED bulbs at full power at night, it’s the equivalent of looking directly into the pocket-size Maglite. Same with one stripe of amber turn signal indicator that burns up the cones and rods inside the eyeball.
The taillamps fitted to the current BMW 5-Series have long, thin stripe running horizontally across the entire taillamps: the brake lamps “overwhelm” the amber turn signal indicators when both are illuminated at the same time.
Earlier this year, The Autopian published this article about the bizarre rule of using the handbrake instead of foot brake at night.
US FMVSS 108 has the minimum size of four square inches for both turn signal indicators and brake lamps. This is probably why you see the “least-common-denominator” red taillamps on the US models from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, etc. instead of amber turn signal indicators.
> “Mercedes-Benz kind of turned the world on its head when they started illuminating the star,” Garbis said
Another trashy stab in the back of what was once unassailable class across the entire marque. Those light-up stars are so vulgar I can’t even.
> When a car following behind the Q6 gets too close too quickly, the taillights will instantly get brighter and flash to hopefully prevent an accident.
Expected or at least accepted in Europe, that behavior triggers unquenchable road rage and murderous instincts in ‘muricans, who take it as a personal attack on the size and vigor of pp as manifested in their driving habits. I legit wonder if it’ll get an Audi driver killed or pushed off the road.
An article about lights that wasn’t written by JT? WHAT IS HAPPENING?!
Good, informative article, Daniel!
I suppose I could achieve a similar effect by rearranging the pegs in my Lite-Brite-esque aftermarket Center High Mounted Stop Lamp but I’m pretty happy with it as-is:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52472774190_d011b247fc_c.jpg
That’s freaking awesome!
-the catterpiggle is a nice touch, too. Thanks for the laugh, man
Thanks! The mascot is a souvenir from my time on Team Tinworm racing a Humber Super Snipe in Lemons.
A car projecting a crosswalk in front of it for pedestrians sounds a lot like an automotive anglerfish to me.
My, what big crosswalks you have, Audi.
Whoever hacks theirs to show little pixelated dongs will be an automatic internet hero.
Pixelated dongs are standard equipment for the Japanese market.
People in the US are already activating Matrixes on their cars that shipped with it deactivated. Say what you will about computers and screens taking over cars, but being able to code deactivated features back into your car with Carista/OBDeleven/VCDS etc. is awesome. I fear this will one day disappear too as cars become more locked down and harder to mess with..
Part of the reason I’ve had 3 VWs in a row is because of VCDS. Lots of little ways you can customize your car and make it your own, plus it’s handy for diagnosing all the problems you’ll have owning a VW. It paid for itself the first time I used it, to put the rear brakes in my old CC in the “service” position for a pad change. I don’t know how well VCDS works on some of the brand new VAG cars though. Newest I’ve used it on is my brother’s 2018 Jetta which was the last year of the MKVI platform (which was really just a revised version of the MKV platform).
I got my feet wet with OBDeleven and realized what an awesome tool it was. It didn’t take long for me to upgrade to an unlimited VIN VCDS cable.
Have a ’23 Tiguan. A lot of the Mk7.5 VCDS tweaks work on it. I’ve used VCDS to enable convenience open/close for the windows and sunroof, heated seats retain their setting across ignition cycles, oil temp in dash display, refuel quantity in dash display, and HVAC fan speed indication in “Auto” mode. Hoping to enable traffic sign detection and rain-detection auto-close for the windows and sunroof soon.
The geek in me says that’s cool, but the repair costs on that nonsense will be extraordinary when it eventually fails. I had a non-fancy LED taillight fail and it was only available in an entire assembly for $300.
The other thing is I hope this customizable stuff has some oversight to make sure they don’t make the lights difficult to see for other drivers. We already have designers making fancy-styled brake and signal lights that are borderline useless and dangerous.
There’s already a ton of $2000 OEM headlamp assemblies out there.
This customizable headlamp idea seems like another scheme from BIG HEADLAMP to stick it to the buying public!
That’s nothing compared to BIG TAILLIGHT’s perfidious shenanigans. BIG HEADLAMP and BIG TAILLIGHT have been on an escalating trajectory of consumer-hostile business decisions since their acrimonious split in the ’00s, seemingly transferring their jilted-lover bitterness onto customers whose sole desire is to be able to see in the dark, goddammit.
It’s nothing new. MK6 Jetta’s with the bi-xenon headlights are regularly totaled due to a cracked headlight these days. They’re ~2K a side, on what is now a 6-8k car.
Minor parking lot mishap=$20k insurance claim. Absurdity meters maxed past operational limits. I like cool lighting innovation, loath OTA, and internet everything, and would it really kill the design ethos to set the expensive bits back enough that an energy absorber could take the hit instead?
Agreed.
What happens in 12 years when the car is on its 3rd owner and the part is discontinued?
I swapped headlights on an 06′ they were under $50 online. took less than 30 minutes. No way that can be done on something like this.
I suspect that 12 years from now today’s cars will no longer function due to total reliance on today’s internet compatibility, and lack of interest from the manufacturer to keep them going.
Or broken screens/computers that cost more than the value of the car
Jason is correct… Pixelated dicks are exactly the reason Audi won’t let people make their own DRL patterns.
I would definitely draw a pixelated dick first chance I get.
Audi design is otherwise rather boring. Well proportioned, but not much else that really catches the eye. Hyundai/Kia and Mazda are killing it.
Eh, I think Audi is about the only company right now to not be overstyling everything (though some of their front ends/crossovers are on thin ice). Some of those “genesis” things are pretty well styled though.
Not a big fan of the modern “give some child sharpie and let him draw lines all over the car that we’ll turn into creases” styling that most of the eastern/U.S automakers seem to be following right now.
Eh… other than them all looking too similar to each other yet not distinct enough (but obviously a VW product they do have some elements of being over-styled, even if just the taillights being too busy.
I’d probably give Mazda, Volvo, and Jaguar/Land Rover the top 3 in mass-market design right now.
Agreed on Mazda (with the exception of the 3 hatch) and Volvo, IMO JLR cars have high rear beltline syndrome.
I for one am a fan of the “indistinct” and “boring” styling because not being those usually means ugglllyyyy.
Hot take (while we’re on the topic of styling): The new Prius is still hideous, it’s just a 7/10 on the ugly scale when the previous generation was a 10/10
Peak Prius design was the 2nd gen.
You’ll use the official pixelated dick pattern and you’ll like it! They worked hard to ensure Audis only have the best pixelated dick lights and they’ll not have their reputation tarnished by amateurs.
I’m a 39-year-old corporate lawyer and a mother of 2 young children. I would abso-fucking-lutely draw a pixelated dick the first time I sat in the car.
isn’t this just a given? schlong, boobs, and swear words. In that order.
thanks for reminding me the word “schlong” exists 🙂
Dickbutt
I’d do boobs. Makes more sense, seeing as they come in pairs.
Bring it back full circle: dancing hamsters
As much as I’m 100% pro-drawing-schlongs, I suspect it might also have something to do with needing a minimum amount of light from the DRLs themselves. Black out too many or the wrong pixels and it might not work as well.
Well, then I guess size matters in this case.
COTD I’ve seen-by far!
ba-dum-tishhhhh
Have they mastered technology to help people understand that they still need to turn on their headlights at night? Idiots driving around with bright vanity lights like this pretending that they are headlights. I (barely sometimes) see at least 1 every night.
It’s because instrument clusters are illuminated by default in most modern cars and DRL’s are pretty bright. I’m pretty sure they just passed a law banning auto illuminated instrument clusters.
Yes, that’s exactly it. But, they should notice that their clusters are at FULL BRIGHTNESS and blindingly bright. They dim once they actually turn their lights on.
Also, while these manufacturers are spending the time and money on pointless (but fun) things like this why don’t they have automatic headlights on every car? Every POS car I’ve had for the last 20 years has had them. Even my base-model 2003 pontiac vibe had automatic headlights for crying out loud.
If they made them standard then they wouldn’t be able to upcharge you into a higher trim.
My previous car had automatic headlights, but it also had that feature where the headlights stay on for some time after locking the car. Every time I left it with a valet, it came back with the headlight switch turned to off because they didn’t knew that the headlights would turn off by themselves, so they switched it off. Since people are stupid, I can see someone not noticing that it is off and driving around oblivious to the fact that their headlights didn’t turned on.
All my cars the automatic setting turns back on after an ignition cycle. So you can never forget.
Oh my goodness, yes please.
I’m not a fan of GM, but I will acknowledge they have/had one of the best light switch setups on the mass market. Default is Auto, then manually twist to Parking lights or manually-on headlamps, or twist the opposite way to turn off the lights entirely, but it returns to Auto for when the vehicle is started next. Easy, effective, shallow learning curve.
Ford has similar on its newer vehicles but it’s in the dash not the multifunction switch.
Also all vehicles should have their headlights turn on if the wipers are on for more than a few seconds.
More than ever before lighting is used to create a corporate identity throughout a brand’s lineup, so even at night you can tell it’s an Audi up ahead. “There’s so much brand image in marketing associated with lighting, it’s instant recognition for Audi, and that to me is super cool,” Garbis said, “That’s the sign of good design, that you can instantly identify the brand.”
If that’s the case, then wouldn’t allowing customers to pick from different designs defeat the purpose? If you want people to know it’s an Audi, then I would think consistency is key.
Well that’s a massive disappointment; I was so happy when I first read about the regulation being updated. Does anyone know the details of this? What exactly are the barriers now?
“Lighting technology is one of the most exciting aspects of modern car design to me”
Are you Torch’s little brother?
Audi: We’re offering customizable daytime running lights; let us explain…
Volkswagen: You’re offering customizable daytime running lights and you aren’t sharing with us?
Jeep: You share technology with companies under your corporate umbrella?
Chevy: Your customers get functional daytime running lights?
I saw the meme format in my head, bravo
Finally, headlight tech that caters to tailing types. P.I.s, goons, stalkers and the like.
I remember being a teen and knowing what common police car headlight patterns looked like in my rearview mirror at night.
When I was a teenager I could look at any cars headlights and tell you exactly which way its coming.
I’ll be honest, I skimmed the article so I’ll accept any grilling I get for missing it if it’s addressed somewhere in there..
Is there an option to have, if a blinker is on, the corresponding DRL on that side stay on? Personally it drives me absolutely nuts to see the blinker come off and one of the DRLs go off.
Actually no. The byzantine lighting laws in this country don’t allow it. If the DRL is within a certain distance of the turn signals, they can’t both be on at the same time. Stupid.
Wow ok, thanks for that info! Learn something new every day!
While annoying, I have to admit that it works for me: I certainly notice it.
On bad stupid-traffic days, it makes me want to carry a wrist-rocket & 3/8” ball bearings. Sort of like wanting a bow & fire arrows when I’m behind someone who can’t be bothered to check whether their headlights are on.
wait-that’s just me, isn’t it?
The bizarre thing about this is that apparently there is no similar regulation regarding headlights, so at night it becomes almost impossible to see front blinkers on many cars because they’re all in the same housing. I’m skeptical a DRL would ever be that bad.
Pretty sure that is standard in other markets, I’m like 99% sure I’ve seen the option to enable that in VCDS on my S4.
I’ve only found the option to change how the DRL turns off (fade or abruptly, I think it’s called “DRL wink”) in my B9+4M. I don’t recall seeing an option to leave the DRL on w/ the turn signal.
Interesting. My B8 S4 supposedly does; I haven’t tried as I think it makes sense for the DRL to turn off.
Disable LED ‘wink’ on turn signal
[09 – Cent. Elect.] [Coding – 07] -> Long Coding Helper -> Byte 3
Bit 2 – LEDs remain at full brightness with parking lights (1 = active)
Bit 7 – Turn off LED-strip DRLs with indicators (1 = active)
The guide I read had disabling the wink as a slow dimming of the DRL. Might give it a shot just to see what it does.
A quick search says you’re right on the B9, the thing I posted was for the B8. Kinda surprises me that they would make that big of changes to the software.
I must be the only one that prefers the DRL to turn off when signaling. I actually enabled that on my Sportwagen. It was turned off from the factory. (Or a previous owner also had VCDS and set it that way). Some cars put the signal and the DRL so damn close that you can’t tell if someone has a signal on or not.
d e c C G
Okay, how the heck do laser headlights even work? All I can imagine is a tiny red dot. Lots of tiny red dots?
On my E-golf I can change from the standard low C shaped DRLs in the fog light position to actual bulbs in the headlight housing through programing with OBDeleven software. OBDeleven works on Audis as well, so there may be more customizable DRL settings for people who know how to little bit of work. It won’t be in the menu where the 4 options they have are, but people should be able to make some unique designs.
I suspect they want to be sure patterns are sufficiently visible and no one can create a blank pattern or some sort of deceptive pattern (say, only light the innermost pixels to give the illusion of a narrower car–don’t know if that would be a safety concern, but it might be). Seems like it would be easy enough to stop the former with minimum lit pixel counts, and I would think you could stop the latter with a couple pixels at the outer edges required to be lit or something.
It’s pretty cool, and I hope to see more of this.