There’s no shortage of inspiring ‘smart’ car news these days, with most eyes on Google and their controversial driverless car trials, but other legacy car brands are working hard on their own innovations.
Think back to the scenes from Tomorrow Never Dies, when Pierce Brosnan's Bond was controlling his BMW 750i via a remote. It seemed laughable at the time, but 18 years later it turns out Land Rover has caught up with Q Branch.
The British marque is currently developing new remote control technology that seems like a huge a stepping stone towards a fully autonomous four wheel drive vehicle. An amazing app can used can be used by the driver to manoeuvre their car and even negotiate tough terrain. The downside? The maximum speed is currently 4mph and the app isn’t going to be made available to the public in the foreseeable future.
The Multi-Point Turn Range Rover Sport is also capable of autonomously moving through 180 degrees, with the system taking over the gear shifting, steering, braking and acceleration. The system would allow the driver to get out and act has his or her own spotter when traversing difficult terrain - and it's also pretty fun. The user (and key) just needs to be within 10 metres of the vehicle for the system to work.
The remote-controlled SUV project is just one of many R&D innovations being vaunted by the company. Land Rover has also recently unveiled its automated parking feature called Park Assist, which is quickly becoming au fait. There's also the new transparent hood concept (below) that uses cameras to offer a view of what's in front of the front wheels - another natty feature for avid off-roaders.