Land Rover builds the invisible car

For even the most experienced off-road driver, there are moments – looking skyward as the vehicle creeps up a steep incline, for one – during which blind faith trumps outright skill. The location of the hill’s crest and what’s on the other side are, for a few nervous moments, unknown. Land Rover aims to change that with a new technology that gives the driver a Superman-style look through the hood to the ground below.

Land Rover’s Transparent Bonnet is part of a new suite of driver-assistance features on the Discovery Vision concept, set for a debut at the 2014 New York auto show on 16 April. The system makes use of cameras mounted on the vehicle’s grille, which are focused on the terrain below the hood line – out of the driver’s view. These cameras relay that data to a dash-top heads-up display, which projects a “see-through” look at the road ahead — and below. The display also reports angles of approach and lean, vehicle speed and the direction the front wheels.

Enjoy Land Rover’s teaser video, and check back on 16 April for all the news from the floor of New York’s Jacob Javits Center.