Cars for Stars News

As you will have read in many of our previous blogs, the automotive world is currently focused on the future, investing heavily in driverless car technology. From BMW and Uber to small, independent startups, everyone is in the race to pioneer in the area of autonomous driving.

This week, Land Rover has joined the contest, testing their autonomous driving technology on one of their modified Range Rover Sports. This rather impressive prototype has been sent to the roads of Coventry, tested to navigate itself around the city’s busy streets.

According to the firm, the Range Rover Sport changed lanes, merged and exited junctions with ease, all the while sticking to the speed limit of 40mph. Chosen for its adaptive cruise control and incredible power, the Range Rover Sport proved to be the perfect car to work with.

This has been part of a £20million government-funded project called UK Autodrive; an ambitious three-year project that has encouraged businesses to further develop driverless car technology and begin testing on the streets.

Mark Cund, the company’s autonomous vehicle research manager, said:

“The Coventry Ring Road is known for its complicated slip roads and exits. It makes for very challenging conditions, especially when under pressure in the rush hour.
“Our self-driving car is not impacted by the same pressure, frustrations or fatigue that a driver may experience and so it’s capable of turning a potentially very stressful situation into a completely stress-free one.”

With plans to roll out fully-autonomous Land Rovers in the next decade or so, this side of the business is a huge focus for the brand at present.

Let us know what your thoughts are on the subject of vehicle automation; will the conventional driver become obsolete? Or, are we still a long way away from driverless cars occupying our streets?