- Mercedes is testing an autonomous GT 63 on the Nürburgring.
- After mapping the course, it made two careful runs by itself.
- Model was reportedly much slower than the Xiaomi YU7 GT.
The Green Hell is where drivers can prove their skill and set new lap records. However, an increasing number of automakers are viewing the Nürburgring as an autonomous playground.
Xiaomi got the ball rolling this summer as an autonomous YU7 GT lapped the track in 10 minutes and 29.483 seconds. That was more than three minutes slower than the human-driven model, but it’s not too shabby for an autonomous vehicle.
More: Think You Could Beat This Driverless Xiaomi Around The Ring? You Might Be Right
Mercedes-AMG now appears to be throwing their hat into the ring as spy photographers recently caught a GT 63 prototype undergoing testing. While it doesn’t look too unusual at first glance, the model has three roof-mounted sensors. You can also notice the ‘driver’ purposely kept their hands off the steering wheel.
The autonomous run was easier said than done as our spy shooter said the prototype slowly lapped/mapped the track by driving at the far right edge. This reportedly took around 25 minutes and then they switched to lapping/mapping the far left edge.
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With the edges of the track identified, the prototype was ready for a hands-free run. It initially completed a “very slow and cautious lap,” as the car reportedly drove in a safe manner with “restrained acceleration” and early braking.
The lap reportedly took less than 20 minutes and the ‘driver’ was only there to intervene if something went wrong. Following the successful run, the car returned to the pits so engineers could analyze the data and tweak things.
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The prototype then returned for a second lap, which was completed “several minutes faster” than the first. However, it was reportedly “nowhere near the record” set by Xiaomi.
Mercedes seems to have wrapped things up after the second test, but there’s little doubt the company will pour over the data and learn from the experience. As a result, we wouldn’t be surprised if the prototype returns to the Nürburgring in the future and potentially attempts to set an autonomous record of its own.
