Fully autonomous Jaguar FUTURE-TYPE offers seating conducive to social interaction during hands-free trips, but can also be driven on demand.
The online world of automotive news is full of spy shots and leaked media galleries. We all impatiently wait to see what automakers will release a year or two from now. With the FUTURE-TYPE Concept, Jaguar is freely showing us what it has in mind for the year 2040 and later.
Granted, it’s more of a thinking exercise than an actual statement of what a Jaguar will look like 23 years from now. However, it’s designed to function in the world Jaguar envisions existing in 2040, one in which autonomous, connected, electric, and shared vehicles are the norm of transportation. The sculpted “Sayer” steering wheel, which has artificial intelligence and can do things such as tell you what’s in your refrigerator and play music, can be used to summon the fully autonomous, electric FUTURE-TYPE to a customer’s door. The steering wheel will serve as a sign of someone’s membership in Jaguar’s on-demand service club; they may choose to own a FUTURE-TYPE outright or share it with others and only own the steering wheel itself.
During autonomous drives, FUTURE-TYPE occupants can chat face-to-face with one another in the comfort of the car’s 2+1 seating. When the “driver” is not engaged in conversation, they can pull up information on the different “orbits” of their world, such as work, friends, or family. Or the “driver” can actually drive the FUTURE-TYPE. What a concept. The second they encounter a tedious or boring stretch of road, such as a construction zone or one limited by suburban speeds, they can let the FUTURE-TYPE resume its autonomous duties.
According to Jaguar, “The FUTURE-TYPE will communicate with other cars and use co-operative driving technologies. This collaboration will enable shorter distances between vehicles and make lane changing and exiting from junctions safer and more efficient. This will also increase road capacity and prevent accidents, while the narrow width of FUTURE-TYPE will mean it takes up less space on the road and in car parks.”
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
