Could Dominic Wilcox’s ‘mini Cathedral’ be the driverless car of the future?

With a future full of driverless cars looking more like reality than science fiction (watch out for them over here next year), one artist was inspired to design a new concept in self-driving vehicles. And, naturally,  it’s inspired by two classic British designs: the Mini, and Durham Cathedral.

As The Guardian reports, Dominic Wilcox predicts that in future, all vehicles will be self-propelled, and that this will make travelling by car much safer than it is at present (can someone please tell the FBI?). That means that by 2059 we’ll all be able to lie on a cushy bed and relax or nod off entirely. Which is a relief, because I’ll be 80 and might need a rest.

Because (in Wilcox’s vision of the future) road travel will be so safe, we’ll also be able to have cars with more delicate surrounds, like the beautiful stained glass lid on Wilcox’s concept car, which he calls The Stained Glass Driverless Sleeper Car (‘mini Cathedral’ for short).

He had help from Middlesex University‘s Product Design department in making the car chassis and the support for the glass, and undertook a five day stained glass workshop at Lead and Light in London. Thanks to the advice of his tutor and help from Massimo Cappella, he then spent six weeks soldering the glass to the frame to make a car roof that’s reminiscent of a religious experience.

Image via Dominic Wilcox’s site.

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