Sony Vision-S: A Car From the Maker of the Walkman

When it comes to forward-thinking concept vehicles, “vision” ranks among the most popular words used by automakers to convey their futuristic aspirations to the general public. Among real-world production models, the letter “S” best signifies a vehicle either at the top or bottom of its game. There’s no in-between when it comes to S; it’s either Sport, or base.

So it’s forgivable if the reader finds the name bestowed on a prototype vehicle launched Monday night at the Consumer Electronics Show to be both generic and instantly forgettable. But the Vision-S is real, and it was built by a company best known for putting music in the hands of the teeming masses, not cars.

Sony surprised everyone at CES last night. Yes, Sony, which appears to be in the market to outfit other companies’ vehicles for electric semi-autonomous driving, rather than offer the whole package on its own. Sony made no promise of vehicle production.

The Vision-S, therefore, stands as a showcase of Sony’s mobility-related technology. In a, um, vision statement, the company expressed that it “exists as a citizen of society and the Earth.”

“We believe that new human lifestyles exist beyond the realms of new mobility,” the company stated. “Sony will work directly toward that ideal.”

Sounds spooky.

Looking like a latter day Austin Princess, were one to be designed by Tesla and Porsche, the Vision-S carries four passengers atop a specially made EV platform outfitted with two 200kW electric motors front and rear. Said platform and associated systems tap into the future with the help of 5G connectivity, affording the user over-the-air (OTA) updates. The 5,180-pound all-wheel drive car is said to be capable of sprints to 62 mph in 4.8 seconds.

While the vehicle soaks up upgrades sent from a company’s nerve center, it will also evolve to the user’s specific tastes via cloud artificial intelligence; its sensing systems will learn the user’s preferences and update entertainment, climate control and drive modes accordingly. All the while, tech will enable seamless transitions from person to occupant. For example, the song playing on your mobile device will emerge from the car’s speakers after entering the vehicle.

Speaking of music, something Sony knows well, the company’s 360 Reality Audio promises a “spherical sound field” in the cabin for a truly immersive listening experience. Seat-mounted speakers flourish in this tech testbed.

Not just speakers, either, A dozen cameras (note the side-view “mirror” screens), a bevy of ultrasonic and radar sensors, and solid-state LiDAR maps the world around the Vision-S, providing what Sony calls a “Safety Cocoon.” A driver-monitoring camera is there, too, which, when combined with LiDAR, makes Sony’s effort a more advanced self-driving package than anything offered by Tesla. Sony says the driver-assist system counts as a Level 2+ on the self-driving scale, with the potential to take things to Level 4 in the future.

Will you ever be able to drive one yourself? The jury’s out on that, but Sony hints continuously that the vehicle is a one-off. Every page in the Vision-S online catalogue carries the disclaimer, “This content and prototype vehicle are intended to illustrate our future concepts in the area of mobility.”

Still, unlike Apple, Sony managed to crank out an actual car for the public to gawk at.

[Images: Sony]