Land Rover's 'Invisible Car' Technology Is Mind-Blowingly Clever

We had a quick glance at the calendar to check it wasn’t 1st April when the news of this came in, but it’s no joke: the new Land Rover Discovery Vision concept will in fact have an invisible bonnet. This will give the driver a clear view of what’s going on underneath the front of the car, and the position of the wheels, which would be a great help when traversing the rough stuff.

The word invisible is dramatising it a bit, however, as this effect is actually the work of augmented reality. The system uses cameras in the grille to capture what’s going on underneath, and sends this feed to the clever head-up display, adding a pair of virtual wheels to the view. When the driver looks through the windscreen, it’ll be as though they can see through the bonnet, giving a clear view of the terrain under tyre. Clever, no?

The Vision concept will preview the next generation of Land Rover Discovery vehicles, which are due in 2015. We’re yet to see the concept in full, and for now have just been teased with the image above.

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