Raymarine High Speed Network Box on 2040-parts.com

Renault Pitches Affordable Self-Driving Technology

RENAULT is the latest company to dip its toe into the waters of self-driving car technology. Pitching its contribution as a way of combating tiredness and stress plus allowing drivers to multitask and let the car take the strain, the French firm is looking to 2020 as the year when its bold vision could become a reality. There is a catch though, as Renault’s vision of an autonomous driving future centres around the provision of ‘protected’ roads devoid of pedestrians or other hazards to make the reality of hands off driving possible.

Driven: BMW i8

When BMW unveiled the Vision EfficientDynamics concept at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show, we wrote: "for our money, it's the first time a major carmaker has really attempted to communicate ‘green' technology in an aesthetic sense." Fast-forward five years and we've swapped the show halls of the IAA for a beauty spot on the north-west coast of Scotland. And, while the car's name has changed to i8, our sentiment towards this genre- and era-defining car remains. Admittedly the production car's design execution hasn't received the universal praise of its concept forebears, but, on a remote outpost of the British Isles, a Protonic Blue i8 couldn't look more exotic.

New Land Rover Defender: Revised DC100 at Los Angeles Motor Show

The New Land Rover Defender DC100 Concept We had the first view of the new Land Rover Defender – the Land Rover DC100 Concept – at the Frankfurt Motor Show last month. And of its sport derivative, the Land Rover DC100 Sport, too. But Land Rover made it clear that the DC100 is a work in progress, and that they were looking for feedback as the quest to replace the Defender with a 21st version gathers speed over the coming years.