Last year, Sony unveiled a development prototype of their fully-electric car called the Vision-S at the Consumer Electronics Show or CES. Today, the company shares great news that the upcoming Sony fully-electric car has undergone some road testing in Europe.
Apart from road testing on the streets of Austria as well as the Alps, the Sony Vision-S was also seen driven at higher cornering speeds at the private test centre.
Kenichiro Yoshida, Chairman, President and CEO of Sony Corporation said, “Our Vision-S processes information from the surrounding environment in real-time utilizing Sony’s advanced sensing technologies. Currently, we are working to optimize safety through test drives on public roads.”
Measuring 4,895 mm in length and 1,900 mm wide, the dimensions of the Vision-S is in fact slightly larger than the benchmark German premium sedans that are the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The wheelbase is 3,030 mm, longer than the Tesla Model S.
The Vision-S is powered by dual electric motors (one on each axle) rated at 200 kW or 272 hp each, for a combined system output of 544 hp. Acceleration from standstill to 100 km/h takes 4.8 seconds, with a top speed of 240 km/h. Range and battery capacity remain unpublished.
Apart from the usual large brakes and signature lighting, the are some tasty details on this test vehicle in its final phase of development. The side mirrors in the Sony fully-electric car, while appears to be slim and adopt a “virtual side mirror” design, houses not just one but three optical lenses!
The fenders meanwhile have another piece of scanning device, together with a few more in the centre of both front and rear bumpers. The rear windshield also features a section for mounting scanning devices as seen on the front windshield.
All these high-definition optical scanning devices that measure the environment in real-time mean that the Vision-S is Level 4 self-driving-ready, and able to offer the feature when the regulations allow.
Based on another accompanying video, the Sony fully-electric car is being developed, engineered, and perhaps even manufactured by Austria-based Magna Steyr. With the progress of this project been kept secretive, there is no mention on the timing of the sale of this stunning Vision-S.
Images: Sony
