Audi (and that means VW too) are first out of the gate with permission from the state of Nevada to test an autonomous car on their public roads.

Showing what they’re capable of, the crews from Audi and Stanford University set their Audi TTS loose on the Thunder Hills race track in Nevada. 15 turns, 12 miles and 27 minutes. Top speed hit? Over 200km/h.

The car does the braking and accelerating autonomously, figuring when to do each as it goes along. It deals with chicanes, hammer-heads and blind rises.

Is it really necessary for me to share my feelings on this sort of thing? Not really. Just make it stop. But once you understand where they’re headed with this sort of technology, it stops stinging as much. Don’t think of a high-end sports coupe lapping a desert race track, think rather of a passenger car fitted with safety features that can deal with dangerously slippery roads and unexpected traffic BECAUSE a high-end sports coupe lapped a desert race track.