In a battle that none of us could have foreseen, Audi and BMW are trading blows on who will be first to market with laser headlights - and currently Audi is edging ahead, claiming its new R8 LMX limited edition will be the pioneer, beating Munich's i8 to the punch.
Exterior
As the laser high beams are clearly a big selling point of the car, Audi is keen to play up their influence on the design. And that exterior colour you can see in the pictures, a crystal effect paint exclusive for the LMX called Ara Blue, has been chosen because the light emitted by the laser beams before they pass through a phosphor converter is blue. However, you can also order your LMS in Daytona Grey matt paint or Mythos Black metallic, should you be a little more conservative.
Should it not be Ara Blue, you'll spot an LMX by its large, fixed rear spoiler - for increased downforce on the back axle - made of carbon fibre-reinforced polymer, plus the same material is used for the front lip spoiler, side blades, engine compartment cover, door mirror caps, side flics and rear diffuser. The alloys are also racing-inspired 19 inch, 20-spoke items shod with rather wide tyres.
Interior
More blueness in here; the Fine Nappa leather bucket seats are stitched in Sepang Blue and feature Ara Blue backrest covers - so a little like the body-coloured items you can spec on the recently launched Audi S1. Sepang Blue stitching also features in the Alcantara headlining and leather door panels, plus it's on the handbrake lever, centre console, steering wheel and instrument cowl.
Further specifics include matt carbon covers for the central tunnel and handbrake, inlays in the doors and the arc around the cockpit, as well as illuminated aluminium inlays bearing the car's limited edition number integrated into the carbon fibre door sill trims. Even the black-piped floor mats have Sepang Blue stitching.
Mechanicals
Let's start away from the headlights for now, as the LMX is based on the already-rapid V10 plus model. It shares that car's 540Nm at 6,500rpm, but has an extra 20hp for a headline 570hp. This allows it to hit 100km/h from rest in a scorching 3.4 seconds, stripping a tenth from the plus's time. It's naturally got quattro four-wheel drive with a seven-speed S tronic transmission pushing power to all four wheels. Braking power is handled by carbon ceramic discs gripped by red calipers, and those stoppers are a whopping 380mm in diameter at the front.
So, we can avoid it no longer. Audi claims it has an enviable back catalogue of 'light fantastics' through the years, with the 2008 R8 the first production car in the world to feature all-LED headlights; in 2012, this was followed by dynamic indicators with their sweeping action in the intended direction of travel. And the Matrix LED headlights of the 2013 Audi A8 also get a mention - now Ingolstadt is claiming the R8 LMX is the first production car with laser head lights, although BMW and its i8 (which has the same tech as an option) might have something to say about that.
The laser lights increase the illumination range and the technology will be used for the first time on the R18 e-tron quattro running at Le Mans on June 14/15. In each high beam light, there's one module featuring four laser diodes that generates a cone of light with a range reputed to be double that of an all-LED item. They emit a blue laser beam with a 450-nanometre wavelength, which is transformed by a phosphor converter into white light with a colour temperature of 5,500 Kelvin. And if all this sounds like gibberish, Audi says not only do the lasers reach further but they offer light in which it is easier for the human eye to recognise contrast, thus preventing fatigue. The laser spot, however, is only active at speeds above 60km/h; they supplement LED high beam bulbs fitted to the LMX too. Like the A8's Matrix LEDs, a camera sensor system detects other cars and adjusts the light pattern to prevent dazzling fellow drivers.
Anything else?
Just 99 examples of the Audi R8 LMX will be made and all of them will be coupés. It will make its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK next month and you can place your order from then with customer deliveries beginning in autumn. So it really all depends on whether BMW can get its optionally laser-lighted i8 to market quicker to bloody Audi's nose...