BMW Track Trainer

The BMW Track Trainer is a modified BMW 330i that can negotiate a race track autonomously at the limit of traction. It was conceived as a driver training tool that lets a new student experience the ideal race line from the driver's seat, and it is a research project of BMW Group Research and Technology, BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH. It has raced autonomously at Valencia, the Hockenheimring, the Lausitzring, Zandvoort, the Nordschleife and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Track Trainer uses a combination of GPS and inertial navigation data to build a precise estimate of the vehicle states in real time, and vehicle control is commanded to an ideal line recorded by a manually driven reference lap. It was covered by Top Gear in a segment during the 2007 season and by The Car Show in the third episode of the 2011 season.