Autonomous technology has been making leaps within the last year or two, and we’ve seen the results when the car is allowed to run to the limits of it’s grip (think the RS7 that Audi sent around Hockenheimring in October.) But something that wasn’t exactly addressed was what would happen if the car was allowed to exceed the limitations of the tires? Would it be able to save itself or would it autonomously stuff itself into a tire wall? Last year BMW showed off an M235i that could drift itself, which is a brilliant exercise in the capabilities of technology…and is quite annoying.
This time around, BMW decided to really show off. Using what appears to be the same M235i, the autonomous car is put onto a watered-down skidpad, while a champion drifter, who isn’t named, hustles a similar car around a dry ring the same diameter. It looks cocky, but here’s the idea behind this: BMW is showing off that the autonomous tech is capable beyond the 10/10ths limit, so that the humans that buy these things can be comfortable knowing that if the car does get upset while driving, like hydroplaning or icy conditions, that the system is more than capable of keeping the shiny side up and the car out of the weeds.
Is there going to be autonomous “road rage”? How do the cars give other cars the finger? I think the engineers have MUCH more to work out.