Sony Shocks Revealing Its Own Car Called “Vision S”
Everyone was shocked at the 2020 CES show when Sony pulled the wraps off of its own concept car called Vision S. Wait, what? Yeah, Sony built a car. No one expected it would reveal a vehicle at CES. So, what’s going on with this latest entry in the electric vehicle zeitgeist?
No one expected Sony to debut a car. It’s known for its Bravia TVs and PlayStation game consoles. But a car? Sony wanted to showcase its automotive technologies and a Sony car seemed like the best way to do it. After all, the CES show is nothing if not nonstop hype and product news.
Vision S is an all-electric high-tech vehicle with 33 sensors
It’s a zero-emission sedan built in conjunction with Nvidia, Continental, Bosch, ZF, and Qualcomm. It features 33 sensors to identify people and objects inside and outside of the car. The CMOS camera imaging helps guide the Vision S. Solid-state lidar is utilized for monitoring passengers, and radar also helps monitor surrounding vehicles. Both Lexus and Toyota already use Sony’s CMOS sensors.
Power comes from two 268 hp (200-kilowatt) electric motors. It can do 0 to 62 mph in 4.8 seconds. Sony says the top speed is 149 mph.
Among the many electronic technologies are dual screens at the ends of the dash that replace side-view mirrors, and a large screen dominating the dash. Infotainment settings are highly customizable.
Speakers are embedded into the seats featuring 360 Reality Audio sound. Sony screens can also be found in the back of the front headrests for rear-seat passengers.
Magna-Steyr provided the platform for the Vision S
The foundation is a new platform developed by Magna-Steyr. Magna also manufacturers the Toyota Supra, BMW Z4, and Mercedes G-Class among others. So the big question is if Sony plans on manufacturing the car? If not, will Magna make the platform available for others to make their own cars with? Is this as much of a Magna-Steyr reveal as it is Sony’s.
The whole announcement of the Vision S was a bit strange. It took place at the very end of a press conference where Sony revealed the logo for the new PlayStation 5. The announcement seemed almost like it was quickly added at the last moment. Once the Vision S was announced, a few minutes were spent discussing the vehicle in vague terms, then ended the press conference. That was it.
The presentation didn’t allow for questions, which we have many
So there was no opportunity to answer questions. Sony’s media center doesn’t have anything about the car as of this writing. We don’t know if it will even make it into Gran Turismo. The intriguing thing about Sony building a car is that it has the capability to do it. It’s completely credible as a vehicle manufacturer, though no one has ever considered it.
For now, we’ll add some images to give you the visuals. If we find out more we’ll bring them to you.
