Has someone at Mercedes been
rummaging through the parts bin
of the USS Enterprise?
We all know Star Trek predicted
VR, Google Glass and 3D printing,
so it comes as no surprise that car
makers are now getting all Trekkie
with their interiors. The curved
MBUX Hyperscreen spans a
whopping 141cm and consists
of three displays housed beneath
a single glass lens.But what does it do that my car’s
infotainment system doesn’t?
It packs eight CPU cores and 24GB
of RAM for a start, making it way
more powerful than most laptops.
The surfeit of memory is required
to run some pretty advanced AI,
which relies on a multi-function
interior camera and light sensor
for information. For example, the
camera can tell who’s behind the
wheel and will automatically make
recommendations based on that
driver’s habits.What, so it’ll start nagging me for
hogging the middle lane?
Not quite. It’s mostly designed to
know what temperature you like
the cabin, or set the DAB radio to
your preferred station. Amazingly,
the system can also remember
the GPS positions of harsh speed
bumps and will lift the suspension
when it reaches them.Sounds like lots of fun for the
driver, but what about the poor
front passenger?
Well, that wraparound screen is
clearly too wide for one person.
The passenger side of the display
can be set up for different users- it has support for up to seven
profiles – and if the local laws
allow, they can enjoy all sorts
of connected content and
entertainment. And if the front
passenger seat is empty, the
screen automatically switches
to a decorative display. Because
floating silver arrows are cool.
CUP-A-SUPRA
The awesome
Toyota GR Supra
can now be
specified
with a 2-litre
turbocharged
engine, as opposed
to the chunky
3-litre option
currently on the
table. It’s 100kg
lighter than its big
brother, so still
manages an
impressive
0-62mph time
of just 5.2secs.TEAM TITANS GO!
Hyundai has hinted
that it’s teaming
up with Apple to
reignite the Apple
Car idea, formerly
dubbed Project
Titan. An initial
statement from
Hyundai referred
to a partnership
with the Cupertino
giant, but it soon
back-pedalled
and went all vague
on us, despite
its share price
rocketing. Hmm...NIO KID IN TOWN
Chinese brand Nio
has lifted the lid
on its extremely
potent ET7 electric
saloon. With
644bhp and
850Nm of torque,
it’s effectively
more powerful
than a Lamborghini
Huracan, while
its advanced
interior tech and
autonomous
driving functions
might give Musk
a migraine.Mercedes-Benz MBUX Hyperscreen
GRAND MASTER DASH
£tba / mercedes-benz.co.uk NEWS DASHBOARD
The first car
to get the MBUX
Hyperscreen will be
Merc’s electric EQS
model, which could
be on sale by this
summer.WH E EL S