IOL Motoring Staff
Beijing Motor Show - What you are looking at could well be the template for Volkswagen's next-generation Touareg SUV.
Headlining the VW display at Beijing is the T-Prime Concept GTE - a plug-in hybrid all-rounder that VW says gives us a first glimpse of its future flagship.
In pure electric mode the four-seater premium SUV concept has a range of up to 50km, while in GTE mode a combined 280kW gives it serious performance cred, driving all four wheels via an intuitive eight-speed fly-by-wire automatic transmission that's controlled by a glass scroll wheel.
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And that's about closest thing to a normal control in this futuristic 'glass cockpit' - not only is the instrumentation entirely digital, but all the conventional switches have also been replaced by gesture and voice control, touchscreens and touch-sensitive surfaces.
The T-Prime also features a curved infotainment display that VW says is a world first, blending in with the driving displays and controls to form a complete wraparound 'virtual cockpit' with one sweep of glass stretching from the driver's side A-pillar to the passenger's side of the centre console.
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