While we wait for real versions of self-driving vehicles to emerge, a few automakers continue to play with the question of how different a self-driving car could be. While the Mercedes-Benz F015 was one such answer, here’s another from an unexpected source: Chevrolet. The Chevrolet FNR Concept was built in Shanghai by General Motors’ Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center as a self-driving electric vehicle from a future that’s more “Blade Runner” than “Idiocracy.” Start with the starter; the car turns on via eye scanner. Headlights and taillights illuminate via lasers; motive power comes from hubless electric motors in each wheel, with energy stored via a wireless charging system, and the “dragonfly” doors add an extra level of drama. And of course, the car has enough software to map its own routes, sense the surroundings for self-driving and let the driver turn around 180 degrees and talk to passengers. The first self-driving car to wear a bowtie badge won’t look like this, but it will take this much intelligence to build.
