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Relax On a Silk Sofa in Rolls-Royce's Driverless Car

The Vision Next 100 is just one example of the endless personalized possibilities.

 & Stephanie Mlot Contributor

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The future of transportation is here, and it's lavish.

Rolls-Royce this week unveiled its first fully autonomous vehicle—a luxurious concept car you'd expect to see in an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

The Vision Next 100 automobile features a spacious interior, no steering wheel, and a silk couch where you can drink 50-year-old scotch and wipe your mouth with a $100 bill.

Rolls-Royce Concept

And you can fire your driver: Virtual assistant "Eleanor"—the digital embodiment of the company's Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament—not only chauffeurs you around town, "but also fulfills the customer's every wish throughout the journey."

Celebrating 100 years of vehicular opulence, Rolls-Royce boasted that its zero-emission model, codenamed 103EX, "is but one example of a number of possible personal visions."

Advancements in manufacturing will enable customers to have more say in the shape, size, and silhouette of their vehicle.

"Rolls-Royce will design and manufacture this personal vision of each customer and make every Rolls-Royce a unique bespoke masterpiece," the company said.

The company tipped a 19-by-5-foot frame, 28-inch tall-but-narrow wheels, and a transparent OLED screen "that dominates the front wall of the cabin."

"With the Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100 we were mindful not to dwell on the past," Giles Taylor, director of design, said in a statement. "We wanted to be as innovative as possible and at the same time transcend the design history of the marque."

Take a 360-degree look at the 103EX concept car in the video above.

BMW Concept

Rolls-Royce is part of the the BMW Group, which also teased the Mini Vision Next 100 this week (above), a concept vehicle that provides a luxury spin on car-sharing. "In the future, fans of the brand will be able to call on a MINI tailored to their personal requirements where ever they are, day or night," BMW says.

Described as an "urban go-kart," the Mini Vision Next 100 has a sparse interior ("a pure, uncluttered look," BMW says) and could drive autonomously from person to person, stopping to charge itself along the way and returning itself to a garage at night.

About Our Expert

Stephanie Mlot

Stephanie Mlot

Contributor

My Experience

  • B.A. in Journalism & Public Relations with minor in Communications Media from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP)
  • Reporter at The Frederick News-Post (2008-2012)
  • Reporter for PCMag and Geek.com (RIP) (2012-present)

My Areas of Expertise

  • Science & Space
  • Video Streaming Services
  • Social Media
  • Cars & Auto
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  • MacBook Air (hooked up to a 23-inch Dell monitor)
  • Google Chrome
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  • Soundcore Life P3 earbuds
  • Various Amazon Echo devices

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