In a world where self-driving cars are starting to show up on highways and cities around the country, it should come as no surprise that Chevrolet would be one of the first U.S. brands to unveil its own version. The Chevrolet FNR concept car was developed and created at Chevrolet’s Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) in Shanghai.
This incredible concept car was developed as a way for Chevy to showcase their current research along with a large segment of their up and coming technology. While all of this whizz bang technology might be the main purpose behind the FNR, it is perhaps the body styling that has caught the vast majority of attention.
Hot Wheels and More
One look at the Chevrolet FNR concept car and chances are the first thing that will come to mind is one of the many Hot Wheels toy cars available in most toy stores today. The FNR features a capsule that is made mostly of glass, features crystal laser head and tail lights, and dual “dragonfly” swinging doors. Drive power is provided by individual hubless wheel electric motors.
Once you slide into the driver’s seat, you will be facing the wall to wall virtual dashboard that sits right under the almost perfectly horizontal windshield. Your FNR will scan your iris to ensure ownership before it will allow you to start the motors. Once started you will be able to take advantage of a wide array of vehicle sensors including a roof mounted radar that can be used to map your surrounding area and create a route map for you. The vehicle also features a built in artificial intelligence powered personal assistant for added convenience.
Getting Underway
Once you have the FNR started and underway, you can swivel the seats a full 180 degrees. This lets you turn around so that you can be facing those seated in the back and have a pleasant conversation with them. Using the built-in gesture controls you can drive the car yourself without even having to turn around, although facing the way you are going may be a much better idea.
Bear in mind that this is just a concept car and that truly autonomous self-driving cars, including the one being developed by Google are still a long way off in the future. The idea behind the Chevrolet FNR and many other concept cars is to showcase the types of technology we can all look forward to in the coming years.
Much of this technology is currently in production such as virtual dashboards, hubless wheels, and to a certain extent self-driving technology. However, it will still be a number of years before all of this technology is advanced enough to be put into production vehicles.
Stealing the Show
Despite the number of concept cars on display at the same time as the Chevrolet FNR, it was truly the FNR that stole the show. From the crystal laser headlights to the wireless auto-charging system, the FNR appears to be everything a person could ever want in the car of the future. While the FNR itself may never be much more than a pure concept car, the technology that has come from developing it will surely find their way into a number of the next generation of cars from Chevrolet and many other General Motors cars to come. However, it is likely to be another 15 to 20 years before a car similar to the Chevrolet FNR will ever see the light of day on the open road. The FNR is an attempt by Chevrolet to develop cars that will garner the interest of younger buyers in the future, and judging by the stir the FNR created at the Shanghai Auto Show, they can expect to be very successful.
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