In early June the auto world had a bit of fun during an unveiling event in London where the Mini Vision Next 100 was shown to an eager audience. The BMW design was centered on a vision of the future, set 100 years from now. With the advent and recent surge of autonomous driving technology, chances are very high that people will not have the need to drive their own vehicles at the start of the next century.
For decades, Mini Coopers were based on the concept that driving is fun and should be enjoyed. With this in mind, the Mini Vision Next 100 is intended to be a fully customizable, shareable vehicle. While many new cars today feature custom settings for the gauges, seats, and mirrors, this concept Mini takes the idea to the next level. The exterior skin is designed to display any color or pattern desired by the driver. Other features inside the vehicle will also change based on pre-programmed settings.
Mini takes this idea of a "sharable custom car" even further by allowing the steering wheel and foot pedals to be slid left and right so passengers can become drivers instantly. The structural design is a nod to the Minis of the past, which were far more compact than today's Coopers. With self-driving cars and "smart roads" being in the near future, the likelihood of crashes is highly decreased. This allows more interior space to be used for passengers and less for "crumple zones." With the additional interior room, Mini can afford to make the vehicle smaller as a whole.
Another revolutionary part of the design is a windshield that extends to the nose of the car. This allows a full view of the road along with potential projected display features which can place GPS directions directly on the road in front of the driver.
While this may be a bit "space-age" for some drivers, chances are the new drivers of 2116 will love this new Mini concept and we'll see plenty of them on the road. For additional photos and video, read the full story at CNN.com.
