McLaren675LT
is a car we're big fans of at PH. Dan liked it so much it was
his car of 2015
. But it doesn't really seem like a car from which to make a concept for the Consumer Electronics Show. Yes it's very technologically advanced, but the Longtail is all about feedback and driver reward and not
'the Internet of Things'
for selfies
Is there room for improvement in a Longtail?
The 675LT JVC Kenwood doesn't feature any of those things fortunately. It does have cameras instead of wing mirrors - because every concept needs those - but most of the changes are inside. The air-con has gone for a start, to offer "an even more spacious feel" and the wheel from the
P1 GTR
is fitted too. Behind that there's a new head-up display and also a 'Digital Rear View Monitor' (DRVM). There are flashes of Calypso Orange leather to brighten up what would be an otherwise rather glum interior space.
But this is a McLaren with input from JVC Kenwood and, however odd the collaboration initially sounds, the removal of the air-con is not the priority here. And don't worry, there's not a sub stuffed under the seat either. The focus is on the 'Carpotronics' system developed by JVC Kenwood, there to offer 'a fully digital cockpit experience'. You can see how this ties in with the McLaren ethos too, the logic being that the head-up display provides all the information the driver will need and means little eye movement away from the road is required. Given how fast a 675LT is, that sounds a very good idea. The head-up display is linked to the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to 'detect the presence of vehicles' and feed the info back to the driver. Those systems work with the aforementioned DRVM to provide full acronym mind melt and also more detailed information about what's on the road around you without you having to look. The end of poor supercar visibility perhaps?
It's important to note this is a JVC Kenwood concept rather than a McLaren one, but the intent is pretty clear: remove distractions to keep the focus on driving. And whatever your concerns about the future of fast cars, that sounds like a pretty laudable aim to us!