It seems that LED headlights just became the cutting edge in racing and on road cars, but now that there are the dual announcements from BMWBMWGermany, 1918 > present87 models
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and AudiAudiGermany, 1909 > present83 models
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that BMW will use laser headlights on the i8, and Audi will use laser headlights on the 2014 R18Audi R18Germany, 2011 > present4 versions
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racecar. Audi is also promising laser headlights on future production models.

The R18 is the first racecar in the world to use laser headlights. The system uses a combination of LED and laser lights. For the laser system, a blue laser beam backlights a yellow phosphorus crystal lens through which the light beam is then emitted.

“By using this new lighting technology Audi is setting yet another milestone at Le Mans. Laser light will also open up completely new possibilities for our production models in the future. Once more, motorsport at Audi accelerates a new technical development for our customers,” said Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, head of technical development at Audi.

Audi will race with three R18s in the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans and with two cars in the rest of the WEC.

Audi also announced a new Motorsport Competence Center in Neuburg, Germany, that will open in the summer of 2014. It will bring all of Audi’s motorsport efforts under one roof from prototypes to DTM to customer sports cars.

BMW Shows How the i8's Laser Headlights Work