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Rolls-Royce Unveils First Driverless Car Complete With Silk 'Throne' (theguardian.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the save-your-pennies dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Rolls-Royce has unveiled its first driverless vehicle dubbed The Vision Next 100. It is an autonomous vehicle aimed at "the most discerning and powerful patrons in the world." There's no steering wheel but there is a silk "throne" where passengers can sit and stare out the window. Rolls-Royce said the zero-emission model, codenamed 103EX, showed the company "rejects the notion of anonymous, utilitarian and bland future modes of mobility." The owner will be "encircled by the most modern handcrafted fine-line Macassar wood panelling" as they gaze at a "generous" high-definition television display. In addition to the "finest one-off deep-pile ivory wool carpet," the vehicle features a virtual assistant named Eleanor, inspired after the actor Eleanor Thornton. It will be able to remind users about meetings; it will even bring the car around to the front of the owner's house at the start of a journey. "As the Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100 gracefully comes to a halt, something magnificent occurs," the company said. The glass roof rises to allow the occupant to stand, while a step emerges from below the running board and a red light is projected, "carpet-like" to announce their arrival. Rolls-Royce did not say how the vehicle would be powered or how much it costs, but it did say it's due to hit the streets in the 2040s. You can watch a 360-degree video of the 103EX the company posted on YouTube.

16 of 105 comments (clear)

  1. Smart or not... by Lisandro · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...thats one fucking ugly car right there.

    1. Re:Smart or not... by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      Rich people don't use roads that have bumps in them.

    2. Re:Smart or not... by arth1 · · Score: 2

      Rich people don't use roads that have bumps in them.

      You have never been to Great Britain, have you?
      Manors tend to be at the top of hills. Away from the town centres, serviced by twisty country roads where parts might not even be paved. Or at least not this century. As for the town centres, potholes and sleeping policemen (speed bumps) galore!

      Many of the luxury cars have been prized not only for a strong engine that lets the car accelerate effortlessly without sounding like a strangled mule, but ability to shield the occupants from the variable road conditions. If you wanted a smooth, quiet ride, RR was once king.
      Now... not so much so. Never mind that the interior looks like a gilded BMW i3. This is one concept car that should never make it past concept, and I doubt it will.

  2. 2040s?!? by burtosis · · Score: 2

    Typically when it's technically infeasible it's 5 years out. Apparently this is at least 5 times that.

    1. Re: 2040s?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, at least consult the chart before posting...

      Clearly what they're suggesting is that a self-driving throne-car has not been proven conclusively impossible.

  3. You could... by camperdave · · Score: 4, Funny

    You can watch a 360-degree video of the 103EX the company posted on YouTube.

    I could, but the three views I've already seen have caused my eyes to bleed. That is one butt-ugly car. The only way I can rationalize it being a Rolls Royce is that they are so dead set against self driving cars, that they produced this turd-wash to make people gag on the concept of self drive from now on.

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  4. Fucking Ugly As Sin by zenlessyank · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Holy shit that looks retarded. See what happens when HR works in the design department?? Someone HAS to get fired for this. I'm throwing rocks at it if I see one.

    1. Re:Fucking Ugly As Sin by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      I love how the roof opens so that the occupant can stand up, making it easier for onlookers to hit them with rotten fruit.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  5. silk? by iggymanz · · Score: 2

    if it doesn't have fine corinthian leather seats I don't want it.

  6. Re:And the joke... by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 2

    With that lack of clearance it's literally going to be hitting the streets.

  7. LOLWUT? by jtownatpunk.net · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Rolls-Royce said the zero-emission model, codenamed 103EX, showed the company "rejects the notion of anonymous, utilitarian and bland future modes of mobility."

    While the outside might be flashy, that's the most bland, boring interior I've ever seen in a concept car. That interior looks like it belongs in a sub-$2000 car for some emerging market.

  8. Video Link by labnet · · Score: 2

    A link for the lazy.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    This car rocks.You computer nerds have no style!

    --
    46137
  9. Satire? by joe_frisch · · Score: 2

    I honestly can't tell if this is a satire piece ore not.

    1. Re:Satire? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

      Indeed. The "The owner will be "encircled by the most modern handcrafted fine-line Macassar wood panelling" as they gaze at a "generous" high-definition television display. In addition to the "finest one-off deep-pile ivory wool carpet,"" sounds so Trumptastic.

      Oh, you are absolutely correct. You've figured it out.

      It's the Trumpmobile. When he is president, he's going order four of them.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  10. Re:Imagine the repair bill... by war4peace · · Score: 2

    When I saw that car I immediately thought of pimps and African country tyrants, maybe with a couple of Arab sheikhs thrown in the mix.

    --
    ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
  11. Re:Fiat Rolls Royce Elizondo Camacho? by nukenerd · · Score: 2

    24 years ago? That's 1992. No public Internet. No smartphones. No Windows 95 .....

    Ruined my keyboard when I got to "No Windows 95". A good reminder of how tech can go downhill as well as up..