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CAR tech: what's next for car interior design?

Your new car could soon be as thoughtful, powerful and communicative as KITT from the Knight Rider TV series. That’s the ultimate expression of the connected car, a trend which is intensifying rapidly. Over the next five years, car cockpits will be able to relay more information on bigger, multiple screens and through the windscreen, and you’ll be able to give commands far more intuitively thanks to voice recognition and gesture control software.

Audi R8 LMX – the most powerful R8 yet – costs from £160,025

The Audi R8 LMX (pictured) is the first production car with laser lights The new Audi R8 LMX is actually the most powerful R8 road car Audi has produced, but they seem keener you know that it has laser beam headlights. But that’s because they’ve beaten BMW to the punch on the laser front. As a run-out version of the current R8, the R8 LMX has a lot to offer, with more power, more toys, a hefty price tag and a debut in the UK at the Goodwood Festival of Speed next month.

Nissan developing the self-cleaning car

Motorists may never need to wash their cars again, as Nissan is helping to develop paint that repels mud, rain and dirt. The technology, which Nissan tells us is “super-hyrophobic and oleophobic”, creates a protective layer of air between the paint and the environment, preventing dirt sticking to the car. Nissan Nissan Note already uses self-cleaning technology Called Ultra-Ever Dry, the tech is currently being tested on the Nissan Note, which already features a ‘wash and blow dry’ function on its rear view camera.