The World’s First Autonomous Race Car Series Just Unveiled Its Final Designs

It's a crying shame we'll never be able to drive one

August 4, 2016 9:00 am

The name Daniel Simon may not be a familiar one.

But if you’ve seen Tron: Legacy, Prometheus or Captain America: The First Avenger, you definitely are familiar with his work.

Simon, who designed futuristic concept vehicles for all those films, has dipped into his imagination to create the driverless race cars that will compete in Roborace, the world’s first autonomous racing series. Simon’s car will use an array of cameras, antennas, sensors and radar to navigate the track, and it’s designed to top out around 180 MPH.

When Roborace  (which will run in conjunction with the upcoming Formula E series) was initially announced last November, Simon’s early designs were published as well. But as you can see from the comparison below, the new model (bottom) is packed to the gills with even more tech than its progenitor.

When the original model was unveiled, Simon said “beauty was very high on our agenda” and the car was an attempt to “merge the best performance with stunning styling.”

“We’re living in a time where the once separated worlds of the automobile and artificial intelligence collide with unstoppable force,” the former Bugatti designer told Autosport. “It’s fantastic to be part of this journey; it triggers all my big passions — motor racing, design and advanced technologies.”

Ours too, Danny. Ours too.

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