Yes you can see right, the Lexus NX does have sold ice wheels and tyres, and yes it is being driven.

• The concept of driving on ice has taken on a whole new meaning for Lexus, which has crafted the world’s first set of working wheels and tyres made from frozen water.

True to its mission of “creating amazing” and inspired by the craftsmanship that goes into every vehicle it makes, Lexus commissioned a team of ice sculpture specialists to explore how ice could be used in place of conventional alloy metal and rubber.

After three months’ research, design and testing, the finished wheels were fitted to a Lexus NX for the ultimate ice drive. The car itself was deep-frozen, stored for five days at -30°C (it started first time) before being driven off down a London road.

 

The addition of in-wheel LED lighting added an extra dramatic dimension to the cutting-edge contemporary styling of the NX.

AUDI is ranked very highly against other motor brands for its movement towards Autonomous driving.

• Audi and three other automakers lead the industry in piloted driving
• Navigant Research looked at companies' strategies and execution
• Audi vehicles already have many advanced driver assistance technologies

Audi ranks as one of the leaders in the industry movement toward autonomous driving in a new study by Navigant Research. Audi, Daimler, BMW and General Motors are leading all other automakers as they move toward the goal of producing self-driven vehicles in the next few years, the study found.

“Our approach looked at the overall strategy and execution to see who’s got the best history in this area as well as who’s got the most on the drawing board now and has made announcements about what is going to be launched in the next year or two,” David Alexander, London-based senior research analyst for the market research and consulting firm based in Boulder, Colorado.

Today’s Audi vehicles already demonstrate many of the advanced driver assistance technologies that form the building blocks of what we call “piloted” driving, including Audi active lane assist, adaptive cruise control, Audi side assist and Audi pre sense rear, which helps drivers change lanes safely.

Among the brand’s accomplishments with more advanced piloted driving, still in development, have been the completion of a test drive by a selected group of journalists in an Audi A7 that drove more than 560 miles, largely hands-free on Interstate highways, from Silicon Valley, California, to the International Consumer Electronics Show in Law Vegas last January. 

Audi has predicted that the company will field a model capable of fully autonomous driving within the next few years.

Navigant ranked each of 18 original-equipment manufacturers according to a number of criteria and then, based on their scores, grouped them into ranked categories.

After the “Leaders” group of four that included Audi, Navigant ranked as “Contenders” Volvo, Ford, Toyota and Honda; as “Challengers” Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover, Tesla and Hyundai/Kia; and in the last group, Fiat Chrysler, Mazda, Renault, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mitsubishi.

Alexander acknowledged that Google has helped create a lot of media, public and industry interest in self-driving and has done significant development work on the concept. But Navigant didn’t include the tech giant among serious candidates for fielding its own self-driving vehicle in the next few years “because they’re not in danger of putting anything into production in that time,” he said.

JLR and Intel collaborate on new infotainment facility.

• Collaboration with Intel enhances Jaguar Land Rover’s research into future vehicle infotainment
• Jaguar Land Rover to further strengthen its technology focus with new R&D centre in Portland, Oregon
• The new centre has been located to enhance collaboration on research and product development with Intel and other leading IT businesses

Jaguar Land Rover will enhance its research and product development on future vehicle infotainment technologies through a new collaboration with Intel and the opening of a new Technology R&D centre in Portland, Oregon.

Jaguar Land Rover’s new research facility on the West Coast will help lead the development of future vehicle infotainment systems and will be responsible for collaborative work with a number of technology partners. The location of the centre has been chosen for its proximity to the technology industry hubs in Silicon Valley and Seattle, where Jaguar Land Rover has been developing collaborative partnerships with the world’s leading IT businesses and creative and technical talent.

Jaguar Land Rover and Intel have already begun work on multiple levels across engineering, research and marketing as Jaguar Land Rover progresses its ambitions to deliver the best in-car infotainment experience. The close proximity of Jaguar Land Rover’s new research facility to Intel Labs is enabling a collaborative relationship on research projects.  Multiple programs are underway to explore and develop next-generation digital vehicle prototypes with in-vehicle cockpit experiences that connect car, device and cloud.  The insights gained from the research programs along with alignment on engineering efforts will speed development on new innovative in-vehicle experiences.

Dr Wolfgang Ziebart, Jaguar Land Rover Engineering Director, said: “Our aim is to innovate and develop the ultimate user experience for our customers and by taking a collaborative approach with both technology start-ups and large organisations such as Intel, we will push the boundaries of future infotainment technology.

“Working with Intel will help both partners define and develop platforms and systems appropriate for premium global brands like Jaguar and Land Rover. This will ultimately develop unique and innovative technologies that will continue to drive the appeal of our products. Our research and the partnerships we are developing in the US will help us ensure our new products remain innovative and globally competitive.”

Elliot Garbus, vice president and general manager, Automotive Solutions Division, Intel Corporation, said: “Consumers expect their in-vehicle experiences to be an integrated part of their digitally connected lifestyle; this requires enhanced levels of connectivity and intelligence in the car.  As part of our work with Jaguar Land Rover, we are exploring innovative ways to inform, entertain and assist drivers and passengers in a safe way; speeding development of unique experiences from the car to the cloud.  Our goal is to accelerate opportunities for new types of in-vehicle services and applications in the Internet of Things.”

Creating the new technology centre in Portland and the collaborative partnerships it supports will accelerate the creation of the next generation of in-car technologies, features and software for future Jaguar and Land Rover models. The Portland facility will be Jaguar Land Rover’s first dedicated software R&D operation and will lead the optimisation for automotive applications of a range of new advanced technologies that are currently being developed on the West Coast.

The new ‘Open Software Technology Centre’ in Portland, which will open in 2014, will complement the established Jaguar Land Rover infotainment team based at the company’s product creation facility in Gaydon, UK. It will employ a team of around 30 infotainment specialists, including 16 highly experienced software engineers. Facilities will include a multimedia creative suite, innovation spaces, development laboratory and a six-bay vehicle workshop.

In the future, the Portland technology centre will also complement the long-term research projects that will be undertaken by the Jaguar Land Rover R&D team at the National Automotive Innovation Campus (NAIC) at the University of Warwick when it opens in 2016. These research projects include electrification, smart & connected cars and Human Machine Interface.