Audi A6 and Audi A7 get new Nvidia technology pack

Audi has announced a new optional upgrade for its six-cylinder automatic A6 and A7 Sportback vehicles, dubbed the New Technology Package Advanced.

Designed to provide the ultimate upgrade for technophiles, the package adds a powerful MMI navigation head unit featuring Nvidia’s 3D graphics processing capabilities, an eight-inch high-resolution touchscreen display, UMTS mobile broadband connectivity with the capability of creating an in-car Wi-Fi hotspot, and access to Google online services (including Google Earth) for navigational use. The system also includes a 60GB hard disk, a third of which is available for phone and music data storage, a DVD drive, two SD card readers and a radio unit.

The upgrade also adds a raft of safety technologies to the vehicles, including Audi’s ‘pre sense’ feature, which constantly monitors driving conditions and conveys warnings to the driver using visual and acoustic signals while automatically initiating preventative protection measures, such as pre-tensioning of seatbelts, closure of windows and sunroof, automatic cautionary illumination of the adaptive rear brake lights or even full autonomous braking at up to five metres per second if impact is unavoidable – automatically if required.

The upgrade also includes side assist blind spot warning, active lane assist and adaptive cruise control with stop/go functionality that analyses data from 26 disparate systems, including two long-range radar sensors at the front of the vehicle that scan a 250 metre field to regulate the vehicle’s speed. It does this using a range from zero to 155mph that’s based on three levels and four distance modes that are chosen by the driver using the MMI unit.

For those opting to add the pack to the A7 Sportback, there’s an added extra in the form of a head-up display system that projects navigation and entertainment information onto the windscreen in such a way that it appears to float around two metres ahead of the car without obscuring the driver’s vision.

All this technology does come at a cost, however. Audi has confirmed that the A6 New Technology Package Advanced will add £3,250 onto the cost of the vehicle (a saving, the company claims, of £1,085 in comparison to specifying the components individually), while the A7 Pack adds £3,750 to the cost of the car.