Well, now I am just wondering how I've lived so long without a holographic butler. Thanks, Bentley.
Ignoring my deep disappointment of living sans digital manservant aside, the concept actually makes some sense. That's because Bentley imagines a future when elite drivers won't want simply speak commands to a faceless digital assistant à la Siri. Instead, they'll want to have a personalized experience when in their ultimate luxury machine.
Moreover, the holographic butler is a great way for Bentley to distinguish its products from an ever-increasingly fleet of techie mass-market vehicles. I mean, your Bentley has got to have more going on than the Chevy Camaro ZL1, right?
Circling back to the topic of autonomy in the Bentley world, it's actually not a new concept, technically speaking.
“We have had the equivalent of autonomous cars for the last 100 years in Bentley, from the point of view of the rear seat passenger who had a driver,” Bentley design director, Stefan Sielaff told Car and Driver. “The way of living is going to change dramatically in the next 20 years. If you look at the world population, three quarters will live in megacities. I’m pretty sure that not everybody will sit in public transport, there is always the demand -- especially for luxury customers -- to have a private sphere, their own private vehicle. Maybe a luxury customer will be part of a fast-lane club and the swarm [of other autonomous vehicles] will get out of the way when the big shark arrives -- we are playing with ideas here.”
Although this rendering is not indicative of a future Bentley product, instead it should be seen as an example of Bentley's future-facing design team. It is eerily similar to the interior of the Mulsanne Grand Limousine that debuted early this month at the Geneva Motor Show -- of course, minus the manservant hologram.