Five cars reimagined in retro form by artificial intelligence
Subtle one, this. BMC's original '59 Mini had an estate version, the Clubman, but it was a stretched two-door. The Countryman, technically a sub-compact crossover, didn't appear until 2010. So what would an Alec Issigonis-designed Countryman have looked like back in the early Sixties? Well, wonder no more – weird doors aside, you can see how good it might have looked.
Images: @automotiveai
Advertisement - Page continues below
Here's where AI has to work hard – the Sixties were a time of innovation and Big News from the USA, with some exceptional designs. And yet Tesla as a corporate entity didn't even exist until 2003, and the Model 3 wasn't born until 2017. The AI decided that the Model 3 of the latter Sixties was still a compact executive car, but actually a two-door worthy of a poster. If only. You might like
Another one that looks real. The Range Rover Sport appeared in 2005 as a mid-sized luxury SUV. The first Range Rover appeared in 1969, and was two-door only until '81, so an imagineered '74 RRS has ended up looking largely like a smaller Range Rover Classic with fat wheels and no rear doorhandles.
Advertisement - Page continues below
If someone distilled the Model T of 1908, boiled it down to the stylistic components and then rehydrated them for this year, this is what the result might look like. Although this seems to be a modern interpretation of a mid-Twenties pickup version of the Model T – sometimes called the Runabout – and the world's first pickup truck.
The Cayenne caused controversy when it was launched in 2002 – an SUV from a maker of sports cars? The horror! And yet it largely bolstered the company's future against the slings and arrows of outrageous market forces. But the early Eighties saw an imaginary Cayenne that borrowed heavily from the 911's stylings, yet weirdly ended up with shades of a Seventies Honda Civic. Or is that just us? See more on Concept
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
How the woman caught in the middle of the Musk-Trump fallout survived
When Elon Musk went to war with Donald Trump one woman found herself at the centre of the fallout. Headline after headline speculated on the home life of Katie Miller, a Republican strategist with a senior role at Mr Musk's Department of Government Efficiency who just happened to be married to Stephen Miller, one of the president's top advisers. Did her true loyalties lie with her husband or with the controversial billionaire that she followed out of the White House to work for his AI venture? As she returns to the public eye with a weekly podcast aimed at conservative women, she said her family – three children aged four, three, and almost two – kept her focused on what mattered. 'What everyone was writing about wasn't my reality,' she told The Telegraph. 'I feel very grounded in my personal life, with my husband, my children. Everything else was just people speculating on my life. It was not actually my life.' Ms Miller, 33, has been a key player in the Trump universe since joining his first administration in 2019. She brought a feisty presence to vice-president Mike Pence's press operation and then returned to the White House for the second term as a 'special government employee'. She left to work directly for Mr Musk after his dramatic uncoupling from the president. Now she plans to use her experience of bringing up three young children on the frontlines of politics to build a conservation with like minded women. 'Nothing will match the energy and excitement of the White House, especially a Trump White House … but I think that in order for the Maga movement to grow stronger, we have to talk to conservative women, and we are not doing that today,' she said. She is planning an eclectic roster of guests, starting with JD Vance, the vice-president, and she does not rule out Mr Musk joining her in her home studio. 'I hope Elon's a listener of the podcast, and one day I hope to have him on,' she said, 'I think it would be a fun time.' Mr Musk has been keeping a lower political profile since breaking with Mr Trump on his 'one, big beautiful bill'. He warned that its tax cuts would increase the national debt and threatened to set up a new political party to challenge Republican seats after leaving the White House at the end of May. Ms Miller has nothing but kind words for both the president and Tesla billionaire. 'Doge was the absolute time of my life,' she said. 'I thank President Trump for the opportunity to create something as special as Doge and for Elon Musk's visionary effort and time spent cutting government waste.' While there are podcasts hosted by conservative women, such as Candace Owens, they tend to focus on politics, said Ms Miller. Her aim is to discuss pretty much everything else. Where is the conservative version of 'Call Her Daddy ', the culture podcast hosted by Alex Cooper which draws millions of listeners, she asked. Her guests will include 'politicians, business leaders, celebrities, musicians, artists, scientists — you name it' she said in a trailer released on Thursday morning. Her first episode with Mr Vance drops on Monday. 'It's a lot of learning about somebody that goes beyond the same 10 questions they always get in an interview,' she said, explaining that they talk about what his three children think his job is and ideal holiday destinations. 'I think everyone always wants to go for news of the day. And I think this episode with JD, is who his family and his friends know him to be.' There were a lot of laughs, she added. Her next two guests will be Mike Tyson, the boxing great, and Sage Steele, a former ESPN broadcaster. Her fantasy list of guests is topped by Carrie Underwood, the country singer who performed 'America the Beautiful' at Mr Trump's second inauguration. 'It's that intersection of why did she sing at an inauguration? How did that come to be? And how does she handle pressure as a wife and a mother,' she said. For now her primary gig is the podcast (she is coy about secondary gigs…) and politics will take a back seat. 'I find that in my personal life, I don't want to consume politics at home,' she said. 'I want to hear about other people's lives and how they make it work, and talk about the clips we're consuming on X, TikTok and Instagram.' Katie Miller's podcast will be hosted on
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Tesla to streamline its AI chip design work, Musk says
Aug 8 (Reuters) - Tesla will streamline its AI chip research to focus on its development of inference chips used to run AI models and make real-time decisions, CEO Elon Musk said, after a media report he had ordered the closure of the in-house Dojo supercomputer team. Bloomberg News on Thursday cited people familiar with the matter as saying Musk had ordered the Dojo team to be disbanded, with team leader Peter Bannon departing the company. Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab did not reply to a Reuters request for comment. The Dojo supercomputer was designed around custom training chips to process vast amounts of data and video from Tesla EVs to train the automaker's autonomous-driving software. "It doesn't make sense for Tesla to divide its resources and scale two quite different AI chip designs," Musk said in an X post late on Thursday. "The Tesla AI5, AI6 and subsequent chips will be excellent for inference and at least pretty good for training. All effort is focused on that," he said, without directly mentioning Dojo. Tesla has been undergoing a wide-ranging restructuring over the past year, with its share price slumping as sales of its EVs were hit by rising competition and a backlash by European consumers in particular against Musk's political views. The company has seen multiple executive departures and cut thousands of jobs, and redirected its focus to AI-driven self-driving technology and robotics, with Musk pursuing an integration strategy across his tech business empire. Musk has previously said that next-generation AI5 chips would be produced at the end of 2026 and announced last month a $16.5 billion deal to source AI6 chips from Samsung Electronics ( opens new tab, without providing a production timeline. He has said that future AI inference chips, including AI6, would be deployed in self-driving vehicles and its Optimus humanoid robots, though he has noted the substantial computing power could enable broader AI applications. The Dojo team recently lost about 20 workers to newly-formed DensityAI, and the remaining workers are being reassigned to other data center and compute projects within Tesla, the Bloomberg report said.
Auto Express
an hour ago
- Auto Express
New Hyundai Tucson to get tough and mean
A brand-new Hyundai Tucson is set to be introduced to the UK in the second half of next year – and our exclusive images show you what to expect. This crucial model will introduce a tougher and more rugged exterior design, a hi-tech interior and fresh hybrid powertrains, giving it the ammunition it'll need to take on its key rivals – many of which have recently been updated themselves. Advertisement - Article continues below Hyundai has been tight-lipped about information specific to the Tucson, but the brand has released lots of broad details about new tech that will be used on the model. And given that it has been seen on test, its development appears to be more advanced than previously thought. Based on the first full-body prototypes spied in Germany, our exclusive images show that the changes will start with a more rugged and blocky look that references the brand's hydrogen fuel-cell Nexo SUV. Can't wait for the next-generation Hyundai Tucson? You can buy a new version of the current Hyundai Tucson from stock with our Find a Car Service, or find great deals on a used Hyundai Tucson now. Hyundai's chief exterior designer, Simon Loasby, told us: 'Art of Steel is our next-generation design language that we launched last year, and you'll see that on multiple new models. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below 'We don't like to do nesting dolls, but you'll see how that is developed across a range of products. We've got a busy two years of new stuff coming,' Loasby added. The language can be seen in elements such as the much more upright nose, clamshell bonnet and chunky wheelarch cladding. The front bumper will integrate a lightbar across its face, with the main headlight units sitting lower down. Advertisement - Article continues below The windscreen has a wraparound style, thanks to the use of blacked-out pillars. These also frame large side windows to create a more upright silhouette than on the current model. This more rugged design is in harmony with the latest Hyundai Santa Fe, and is a distinct departure from the current Tucson's dramatically rising windowline and complex body. The tailgate will be quite upright compared with the current model's to allow for a more open and versatile boot. The SUV will also sit on a set of large, intricately styled wheels in round wheelarches. Inside, we expect to see a brand-new tech package that informs the overall interior design. Loasby said: 'It'll be a much more comfortable and calm space than a tech fest. That's been our balance with the product. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below 'Over the next two years you'll see our next generation of interiors coming out. The safest way to drive is to keep our customers' eyes on the road, so you build your philosophy around that. You quite quickly realise that the centre screen is actually just a distraction.' This suggests the Tucson will balance the use of screens and physical controls, and avoid the integration of oversized digital interfaces. Instead, we expect there to be new displays high up on the dash, with key physical controls for the most-used controls and commands. Advertisement - Article continues below 'We believe nine is the best number of both legal and physical, regular interactions,' Loasby added. 'They're all physical buttons and they will stay physical buttons because they are things that I want to adjust without looking away [from the road].' Beyond this, the Tucson should retain its versatile five-seat interior, with lots of rear legroom and a decent boot. With such a wide remit as a key car in all global markets, the Tucson will be available with a range of powertrains, but hybrids will take precedence in the UK and Europe. Expect a range of mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid options, with a new generation of full-hybrids the most important addition. Developed in-house by Hyundai for its next-generation models, the new hybrid system will combine a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine with two e-motors – a large one mounted in the gearbox, and the other acting as a starter generator. Hyundai says this powertrain improves efficiency by more than four per cent compared with the previous system, while offering more torque and better driveability. Peak power is yet to be confirmed, but torque will be 380Nm – 13Nm more than the brand's previous hybrid set-up in this class. There won't be a full-electric version – electric car buyers will be catered for by the forthcoming Ioniq 4 – but there is likely to be a hot N model with a new high-spec hybrid powertrain. Our dealer network has 1,000s of great value new cars in stock and available now right across the UK. Find your new car… Find a car with the experts BYD gives up on EV grant, and offers five years of maintenance instead BYD gives up on EV grant, and offers five years of maintenance instead With a Government grant looking unlikely, BYD has announced a new warranty and maintenance scheme to tempt buyers Car Deal of the Day: MGS5 EV for under £200 a month is a true bargain Car Deal of the Day: MGS5 EV for under £200 a month is a true bargain The ZS EV's replacement is an excellent small electric SUV, and our Deal of the Day for August 4 Fiat and Abarth electric cars plummet in price as brand reintroduces 'E-Grant' Fiat and Abarth electric cars plummet in price as brand reintroduces 'E-Grant' Fiat offers sizable discounts as it awaits confirmation that its EVs are eligible for the new Government grant
