6 Cars That Were Technologically Ahead Of Their Time

In today's tech heavy car industry, we take many amazing advancements for granted. Not long ago, though, this technology was just being introduced - here are some of the cars that pushed the boundaries
6 Cars That Were Technologically Ahead Of Their Time

1. Mitsubishi GTO

6 Cars That Were Technologically Ahead Of Their Time

Nowadays it’s kind of a given that supercars will have active aerodynamics to keep them pinned to the road at ludicrous speeds, but back in the 90s that kind of witchcraft was unheard of. So that made it all the more impressive when the Mitsubishi GTO rocked up with front and rear spoilers that could move depending on your speed. The GTO also had full time four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering.

2. Mercedes-Benz S-class

Image via Wikimedia Commons
Image via Wikimedia Commons

If you want to know what the first car to feature any given technology was, chances are good that it was the Mercedes-Benz S-class. Every generation has featured technology that would become standard in the decades to come. Over the years it has featured innovations including radar-guided cruise control, seatbelt pre-tensioners, ABS, traction control and infrared night vision.

3. Aston Martin Lagonda

Image by dave_7 via Flickr
Image by dave_7 via Flickr

For a manufacturer that’s best known for it’s super sleek designs, the Lagonda is an odd wedge-shaped beast. Its styling might have been divisive, but what’s really interesting is inside - it was the first car to use a digital instrument panel. Unfortunately, the computers that ran it were prone to crashing, the screens were unreadable in direct sunlight, and the touch-sensitive buttons were not very sensitive to being touched.

The development cost for this electro-turd interior was four-times the entire development budget for the rest of the car. Still, when it did work, it was mighty impressive to have a digital dash in the late 70s.

4. Porsche 959

6 Cars That Were Technologically Ahead Of Their Time

Like so many of the greatest performance cars, the 959 was born from Porsche’s desire to kick ass in racing, specifically Group B rally. It had a twin-turbocharged flat-six engine that made 444hp, which coupled with an advanced all-wheel drive system helped it hit 62mph in 3.7sec. That made it the fastest car in the world. You could also control ride height, it featured zero lift, and it was the first car to feature electronic tyre pressure monitoring.

5. GM EV-1

6 Cars That Were Technologically Ahead Of Their Time

The world is losing its mind over the Tesla Model 3, so it seems apt to remember the first mass produced EV. GM made the EV-1 back in the late 90s, but they weren’t available to buy, instead you had to lease it from GM.

When the program was discontinued in 2002, GM took back all of the cars without giving lessees the opportunity to buy the cars they’d been driving. Most EV1s were crushed, while a few were sent to museums. It’s still a sore point with many environmentalists and EV fans, who accuse GM of deliberately sabotaging the development of EVs to pander to the oil industry.

6. Audi Quattro

Image by Ultegra via Wikimedia Commons
Image by Ultegra via Wikimedia Commons

Audi’s legendary rally success with the Quattro has been much publicised. Before it arrived on the scene, competitors scrabbled for grip with two-wheel drive, but then Audi blew everyone out of the water with its all-wheel drive setup. Rallying would never be the same again, as nothing could keep pace with the four-ringed, four-wheel drive monsters.

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Comments

DragzMR2

yeah, if only all those s-class gadgets worked properly.. ..

04/08/2016 - 14:02 |
2 | 0

Which they do…I’ve seen all the tech at work in my uncle’s S-Class, and they’ve never faulted. Unless there has been some horror stories elsewhere about its gadgets going wrong, I don’t think the S-Class is unreliable.

04/08/2016 - 14:37 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

AMC Eagle?

04/08/2016 - 15:40 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Many Citroens are missed here. The Xantia Activa had active anti roll bars and is one of the best handling FWD car even today, in some slalom tests it was faster than the 911 GT2 (996). the DS had so much innovations that I can’t remember them all.

04/08/2016 - 16:18 |
4 | 0
Flow

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

True! And also the Traction Avant which was the first to bring most of the technologies that are now obvious in 95% of the cars.

04/08/2016 - 16:24 |
1 | 0
Flow

Citroën Traction Avant (first monocoque chassis, first mass produced FWD, first independant front suspension, and many other things…) and it’s successor, the DS, which has technology still not used in every nowadays cars, were the most ahead of their time! More than 30 years each! They should appear first in this list

04/08/2016 - 16:20 |
7 | 0
P5 Ford

Citroen DS. HEAPS ahead of it’s time.

Also Ford 17M. Mc pherson suspension and heaps of torque compared to the economical cars of the era.

04/08/2016 - 16:58 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Nah, 2007 C6: HUD, LSD, Advanced ETC, Low drag, Targa, Performance, Paddle shift 6 gear, small block V8, High skid pan G force and better performance and fuel consumption than the equivalent 911. I am biased though.

04/08/2016 - 17:07 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

The S class is called the time machine because of the technology used

04/08/2016 - 17:19 |
0 | 0
miki_turbo

Why wasnt the lagonda on sexiest interiors?

04/08/2016 - 17:20 |
1 | 0
Christo M

Hey, hey! What about Koenigsegg’s camless engine? Freevalve.

04/08/2016 - 18:24 |
1 | 0
Black Phillip

An optional sports package offered on 1977 gmc trucks featured a digital clock stereo.

  1. Digital clock stereo in a pickup truck. Fancy fancy fancy
04/08/2016 - 19:17 |
0 | 0