2014 New York - Land Rover unveils the Discovery Vision Concept

It wasn't too long ago when things were looking rather bleak for Jaguar and Land Rover, the iconic British brands that are now owned by Tata Motors. A few amazing, well thought-out, stunningly-styled models and a steady sales climb across all major global markets later, the two brands have now elevated themselves to a position where they seem to do nothing wrong. The Land Rover Discovery Vision Concept unveiled in New York last week serves well to prove that.

Previewing a new family of Sport Utility Vehicles under the Discovery nameplate, the Discovery Vision Concept is where, we strongly feel, the future of Land Rover belongs. The Range Rover might be raking in the profits, the Evoque might have customers queing up on either side of the dealerships and the Defender might be swallowing hitherto unexplored terrain but the Discovery is the model that would keep the Land Rover factory and its workers busy. Taking design cues from this concept, an all-new premium compact SUV dubbed the 'Discovery Sport' will be the first member of the new Discovery family that has all along been a standalone model. The concept itself looks sleek and modern with a lot of elements picked up from the Evoque.

Also making its debut in the Discovery Vision Concept is the ground-breaking "Transparent Bonnet" technology. Using cameras mounted in the vehicle's grille to capture the terrain ahead which are then fed to a Head-Up Display in the windshield, this revolutionary feature uses 'virtual imaging' technology and creates a see-through view of the terrain through the hood and the engine bay. Isn't it incredibly cool to have a hood and then have tech that makes it invisible? We bet watching this tech in person would make it a scene straight out of a Hollywood movie. Have a look at how this technology works and the view that the driver would get when it is in operation in the images below.

Land Rover hasn't revealed details on the underpinnings, powertrain options and the variants that will follow the Discovery Sport. What it did indirectly reveal though is a rosy outlook for the future. With the exception of Ford Motor Company which might be a bit disappointed that the Discovery Vision Concept looks too similar to the Explorer, this Land Rover concept has probably made everyone else happy.