As the landscape of the automobile industry continues to change, events like the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas have increasingly become the sites of important auto news. And while there was certainly expectations from traditional automakers as well as mobility companies, we aren't sure if anyone expected Sony to debut a new car at the show—but that's exactly what they did.
Known as the Vision S, the car is an all-electric concept vehicle that looks much like something a "real" car company would introduce, but it's not the powertrain or chassis that's important to Sony, but the audio visual technology it has packed into the car.
Sony's camera technology has already been in use by several automakers as part of driver assist systems, and their infotainment and audio technology has long been featured in many different production vehicles. The Vision S was built as a platform to demonstrate the potential of their technology and more.
The Vision S features no less than 33 different sensors to watch areas both outside and inside the car, giving it both advanced driver assistance capability and of course an abundance of display screens inside, as well as Sony's 360 Reality Audio system. It's also capable of over the air updates like Tesla's vehicles.
All in all, it looks to be a surprisingly cohesive effort from a company that's never made a car before—and should such a thing ever become a reality, it'd be interesting to see how Sony's name recognition would carry over into the auto market.
Unfortunately if you were looking forward to hopping on Amazon or walking into your local Best Buy store and ordering a Sony Vision S, the idea (for now at least) isn't to sell the car itself but just to demonstrate what all of Sony's automotive-related tech could be capable of in an integrated package.
Here's at least hoping the car will make an appearance in an upcoming update to Gran Turismo.