Land Rover unveils the Discovery Vision Concept

Land Rover has lifted covers off the much anticipated Discovery Vision Concept, ahead of the 2014 New York Motor Show. The unveiling took place at an event on the deck of the USS Intrepid, which currently serves as the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, alongside a full-size model of the VSS Enterprise suborbital spacecraft. Revealed just a few hours after a sole image of the concept was leaked online, the Discovery Vision is a major part of the British manufacturer’s future strategy for its cars.

The Discovery Vision Concept loses the old Discovery 4’s two-box design to adopt a sportier profile, more along the lines of the current Land Rover cars. The overhangs have been cut short and the edges smoothened out, though it does retain the stepped roof design. The concept eliminates the B-pillar for its suicide doors and features a single tailgate, instead of the Discovery 4’s split tailgate, which allows a platform to slide out from within the rear bumper to create a ‘social seat’.

The Discovery Vision has a 2+3+2 seating arrangement which can be flexibly adjusted according to requirements. The interiors feature loads of innovations and high-tech equipment. The dashboard is clean and simple and integrates a big touch screen display, which can also be controlled by the steering-wheel mounted touchpads. It also features the Transparent Bonnet, a new type of smart heads-up-display which displays full-width and length computer images of the terrain below the car generated by the car’s grille-mounted cameras.

Besides these, the Discovery Vision also comes with Laser Terrain Scanning, Laser Referencing, latest version of the Terrain Response system and Remote Control Drive technology, which allows the driver to control the car from outside. The Discovery Vision Concept also comes with some much more ‘recent’ technologies like laser headlamps and video conference for passengers.

Land Rover has come a long way from being a purely utilitarian manufacturer to a luxury car manufacturer. Earlier known for its robust and off-roading SUVs, Land Rover SUVs have become a symbol of luxury and technology, while managing to stay true to their rugged nature. Many things are going to change as Land Rover is planning to completely rejig its model lineup in the coming years. While this might be disappointing for the purist, it might lead to quite a few interesting cars as well as technologies.