Drive into the future with Rolls Royce's land-yacht of a concept car - MarketWatch

The future of luxury cars will be entirely personalized, fully autonomous and exceedingly comfortable -- at least if Rolls Royce has anything to do with it. On Thursday, the venerable British automaker, which is now owned by BMW Group BMW, 0.53%, unveiled its first self-driving car, the Vision Next 100 concept car, a spectacularly ornate, futuristic land yacht that wouldn't look out of place in the sci-fi classic "Tron." At nearly 20 feet long and 5 feet tall, the car features a zero-emissions powertrain, glass canopy roof and virtually invisible wheels, which are tucked inside the sleek chassis (Got a flat? The robot will fix it). But it's inside where the Vision Next 100 really shines, sporting a silk sofa -- or as Rolls puts it, "a beautifully textured, ivory-coloured luxurious throne upon which our passengers are conveyed" -- deep wool carpet, hand-crafted Madagascar wood paneling and a big-screen TV.