Supercars aren’t normally known for their eco-credentials, but this Audi R8 is a little bit different, with battery power alone firing it from a standstill to 62mph in a rapid 3.9 seconds.

That isn’t what makes this car interesting, however, because this machine can drive itself too. Following on from Audi’s A7 which drove itself most of the way from San Francisco to Las Vegas back in January, this latest concept was shown off at electronics show CES Asia in mid-May.

The autonomous machine packs a number of sensors including a laser scanner, a number of cameras plus radar and ultrasound kit to read the road ahead, reports The Independent. A central computer then processes all if this information to stitch all of the data together into a virtual map of the car’s environment, letting it steer for itself without the need for a driver behind the wheel.

This new wave of self-driving tech, as showcased on the R8 e-tron, is likely to first see the light of day in a new version of Audi’s A8 luxury saloon, which should arrive in 2017, according to Auto Express.

The R8 e-tron also showcases Audi’s lightweight construction and slick engineering too, which lets it race to 62mph in less than four seconds and keep going all the way to 155mph thanks to its healthy horsepower tally of 455bhp – despite having just batteries for power. It can also be fully charged in less than two hours, making it a much more appealing prospect than a number of electric cars currently on sale, which can need more than twice as long to recharge.

Pictures: Audi