British automotive giants, Land Rover, have just released a whole load of plans for their luxurious Discovery Vision concept car which is to be their most technologically advanced vehicle yet - and it is safe to say, it is already our favourite car of the future.
Starting with the basic layout, the Discovery Vision can seat seven - very comfortably. Five of the car's seats - the front two and the middle three - are made from a brand new state-of-the-art water and oil repellent leather known as Foglizza H20w, whereas the rear three seats come in a separate tweed trim to create a personalised luxury ambience. No need to worry if you need to carry a big load though, the rear five seats are easily enough folded down and away to create a six, five or four seater limousine-style ride.
An initial stand-out feature of the Discovery Vision is the car's ability to seemingly have a transparent bonnet. This is done by two small cameras on the front bonnet, which project an image of the road underneath onto a display in front of the driver. This allows the driver to see underneath the bonnet and onto the road while the car is moving - though we're not quite sure what use this will have, it is undeniably cool.
Don't worry if the thought of parking this monster puts you off, as the vehicle's Terrain Response system is here to save the day. Terrain Response monitors the area by scanning it with lasers which are hidden in the foglamps, it can then project reference markers on the roads and walls around you - ideal for parking and manoeuvring through small gaps.
Touch screens also play a massive part in the Discovery Vision. Five of the passenger seats come with 10" hi-res touch screens built in to the seat in front, giving each person their own personal entertainment system for the journey. The screens can also link up to create an in-car conference call, because face-to-face conversations are obviously a thing of the past. As if that's not enough, there are another two 10" touch screens adapted into the dashboard, and two smaller touch pads on the steering wheel which the driver can use to control the in-car entertainment, sat-nav and a range of other features.
Detach one of said touch screens from the dashboard and you can step outside the car and use what Land Rover have called Remote Control Drive. Yes, that's right, you can actually move the car using a tablet's touch screen, turning your vehicle into the biggest remote control car you're likely to ever play with.
Ever drove past a landmark and wanted to know more about it? Well the Discovery Vision comes with advanced Smart Glass technology, which automatically brings up information about the area on the windows next to passengers, and if they want to know more, they can transfer the information onto their personal touch screens and interact with it in their own way.
Other big-hitters in the long list of impressive features include gesture controls, allowing the driver to control variables within the car with a simple hand movement, and this has meant the designers have cut back on buttons and de-cluttered the front of the car, creating a kind of dashboard feng-shui. There is also detachable luggage holders which fit safely into the rear passenger doors to create space in the back and oh yeah - the whole roof is made of interactive Smart Glass.
The list of ground-breaking features goes on and on, and we are counting down the days until this technology is ready to be rolled out so we can take the Discovery Vision for a spin. You can read the full specifications for the concept car over on the Land Rover website or watch the Land Rover video below..
(Written by Jake Gauntley)