The jaguar ‘future type’ is a fully autonomous concept that imagines mobility in a world where people can summon a fully charged electric car on demand. offering a glimpse into the future, it is a car for a world of autonomous, connected, electric and shared mobility.

At the heart of Jaguar’s ‘future type’ concept is the world’s first intelligent and connected steering wheel. This steering wheel lives in the home and becomes a companion to both its owner and vehicle. ‘sayer’ named after the designer of the classic ‘e-type’ is the first voice-activated artificial intelligence steering wheel that will be able to carry out hundreds of tasks. it can summon the car, play music, book a table and it even knows what’s in the fridge. ‘sayer’ signals the owner’s membership of the British automaker’s on-demand service club offering either sole ownership or the option of sharing the car with others in the community, meaning that you only need to fully own the steering wheel, not the car itself.

people can ask the steering wheel for directions from the comfort of their own home and it will work out when you get up when a car needs to autonomously arrive at your door and even advise which parts of the journey you might enjoy driving. if the driver wants to be alone and concentrate on the thrill of driving, ‘sayer’ can take the back seat. in the tomorrow’s connected landscape, a fleet of fully charged ‘future types’ could be available for customers on-demand. if you are taking your child to school, and only need two seats, you can summon a car with 2+1 social seating, so you can chat face to face as the car autonomously drives you to your destination.

Jaguar’s ‘future type’ will communicate with other cars and use cooperative driving technologies. This collaboration could enable shorter distances between vehicles and make lane changing and exiting from junctions safer and more efficient. This could also increase road capacity and prevent accidents, while the narrow width of the vehicle will mean it occupies less space on the road, and in car parks. The driver could ask the ‘future type’ to drive autonomously during the stressful and tedious parts of the journey, such as in heavy traffic or roadworks, or if they prefer to do some work or choose to watch a film. but for the occasions when a driver wants to enjoy the thrill of the open road, the concept retains a steering wheel.

Ian Callum adds, ‘today, Jaguar offers customers a dynamic, emotional experience. Whether it’s the exhilarating way they drive, the way they sound, the iconic design or the connection drivers feel with the road, customers tell us that their jaguar makes them feel special. with the future type, we’ve been investigating how we can keep this emotional connection in a future world where people may choose not to own a car, or when a jaguar is an autonomous, on-demand vehicle.’