The invention of autonomous driving technologies could drastically alter
the way in which vehicles are designed in the future, and the so-called Renault
Project XY-2 from Hawon Jang offers one take on how cars could look.
Whereas traditional cars are made up of an interior surrounded by glass
surfaces, the XY-2 is a little different. In fact, there initially doesn’t
appear to be any kind of interior as the outside is dominated by sleek silver
bodywork. Looks, though, can be deceiving and they sure are.
The concept has been designed to accommodate a rather spacious cabin which
is hidden under a large section of the bodywork that lifts off the car. Inside
you will find a pair of small seats which, in their regular position, are
divided by a black wall. When the seats are slid backward, they join together,
making things a little intimate inside.
While self-driving systems will certainly allow car manufacturers to create
novel cabin layouts, we’re not sold on the idea of not having any view of the
outside world when being driven around by cameras, sensors, and computers. If
anything, it must be a bit claustrophobic.
The Renault which most closely mimics the concept pictured is the
EZ-Ultimo, which was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show last year. That vehicle
had an interior which looked more like a lounge room than a place where people
sit in traffic.
However, the XY-2 clearly isn’t a vehicle designed to suit today’s roads,
but instead looks far into the future, where cars may share almost no
resemblance to the ones we have today.
