Technology

• Volkswagen has teased an image of its upcoming entry-level EV
• The new car will kick off the marque’s ID range
• A show car will be unveiled at the end of March

Electric vehicles are typically considered the preserve of early adopters and high earners, but the price of everyday, pure-battery EVs is tumbling – and Volkswagen is the latest to announce the introduction of its most affordable electrified model to date.

Scheduled to go on sale in 2027, we will see a preview of the so-called ID.One in a month or so, with the German marque confirming that it plans to sell the small hatchback for €20,000 in Europe, which is just £17,000 in the UK or around $20,800 / AU$33,000 at current exchange rates.

Solely aimed at European buyers (small cars rarely do well in the US), the new model will sit underneath the upcoming ID.2all (yes, that's its name) electric car that is planned for next year.

However, the official name hasn't been revealed yet and we could well see a return of the Up! badge, as this everyday EV has been designed to fill the void that the Up! left, offering “low-cost entry-level mobility” to the masses.

Alongside the ID.2 all, which is expected to cost around €2,000 more, Volkswagen hopes it can turn around some of its patchy EV fortunes with a handful of attractive small cars that the majority of buyers can afford.

The early teaser image looks good, revealing a squat, purposeful front end and clear Volkswagen design cues. The German marque will bring its reputation for quality but spare some of the additional niceties in order to keep production costs down.

As a result, we expect the battery range to be modest, designed primarily with city driving in mind, while the in-car technology could be kept to a minimum.

Speaking to Autocar, Volkswagen technical development boss Kai Grünitz hinted that customers might use their own devices, rather than having "a huge infotainment system", for example.

Analysis: VW makes EVs affordable, but is it soon enough?

(Image credit: Volkswagen)

There has been a noticeable shift in the sort of electric vehicles that are coming onto the market in recent months, with larger, more luxurious EV launches becoming far less frequent, as more manufacturers turn towards entry-level models.

In Europe, the Renault 5 E-Tech has captured the imagination of many, scooping numerous awards from industry panels, as well as outselling the Tesla Model Y mere weeks after it was launched in France.

Similarly, Citroen has just announced the new C3 Aircross, which will come with the option of a small petrol engine, but is also offered in a pure EV version that starts at just £22,990 (around $28,500 / AU$45,500).

Below this, the Dacia Spring has been making waves with its ridiculously low £14,240 asking price (around $18,000 / AU$28,600), although Dacia is a brand that isn’t afraid to offer the absolute barebones as it chases affordability.

On the other hand, Volkswagen has a long and successful history of offering entry-level cars that look and feel like more expensive propositions, getting buyers on board at an early age with a view that they will remain VW customers for life.

This €20,000 car has the potential to do what the Polo and Up! have done for the brand in previous decades, but 2027 feels like a lifetime away.

If Renault continues its retro-inspired EV success with the promise of even smaller and more affordable models to come, it could well beat the Germans to it.

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The General Services Administration, staffed at its upper levels by Elon Musk associates, plans to sell 500-plus buildings—some of which house government agencies and the offices of US senators.

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Wednesday, February 12 (game #1115).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1116) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1116) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1116) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1116) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1116) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• S

• D

• A

• T

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1116) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1116, are…

• SCALP
• DWELL
• AMPLE
• TRUNK

Saved by the bell today – the bell in my head going “Nooooooo!”. With one guess left I was typing out Dwelt, as that was the only word I could think of that began D-W-E-L when the alarm went off, I woke up and realised I couldn’t use T, and the word I was looking for was DWELL.

I’m sure some people find Quordle a doddle, but I’m not one of them.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1116) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1116, are…

• GREET
• CONIC
• GUAVA
• BORNE

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1115, Wednesday 12 February: SHOOK, GRADE, POLAR, SEEDY
• Quordle #1114, Tuesday 11 February: HEAVY, CIRCA, PESKY, SCION
• Quordle #1113, Monday 10 February: TWIXT, FRESH, GUISE, TABBY
• Quordle #1112, Sunday 9 February: TAPIR, SHAKE, TOKEN, SEVEN
• Quordle #1111, Saturday 8 February: AFOOT, ALIKE, HUMUS, TOWEL
• Quordle #1110, Friday 7 February: PETAL, ABASE, AMONG, CORER
• Quordle #1109, Thursday 6 February: MADAM, SCAMP, FAUNA, TRACK
• Quordle #1108, Wednesday 5 February: SIXTH, VERVE, BLURB, CACTI
• Quordle #1107, Tuesday 4 February: BIRTH, DRAWN, MILKY, JOIST
• Quordle #1106, Monday 3 February: SLEET, TENSE, SEIZE, SCAMP
• Quordle #1105, Sunday 2 February: LOUSY, PENNE, CHUMP, SALVE
• Quordle #1104, Saturday 1 February: FACET, BLISS, FLUFF, FRANK
• Quordle #1103, Friday 31 January: PARER, SYNOD, BRAWN, BANJO
• Quordle #1102, Thursday 30 January: WEEDY, CHIRP, STALE, SUGAR
• Quordle #1101, Wednesday 29 January: CROWN, SCENE, AGILE, CRANK
• Quordle #1100, Tuesday 28 January: TOKEN, DAISY, INANE, PLIED
• Quordle #1099, Monday 27 January: ANGEL, GLOBE, MAYOR, BRAVE
• Quordle #1098, Sunday 26 January: WATER, ORBIT, BRIDE, TOUCH
• Quordle #1097, Saturday 25 January: GIVER, GROOM, GUSTO, MAKER
• Quordle #1096, Friday 24 January: GRIND, STOCK, SERVE, TOUCH

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, February 12 (game #346).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #347) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… It's in the cards

NYT Strands today (game #347) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• IRATE
• SOAPY
• TWIN
• GANG
• REAR
• TANG

NYT Strands today (game #347) - hint #3 - spangram What is a hint for today's spangram?

• Mark the occasion

NYT Strands today (game #347) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: top, 4th column

Last side: bottom, 3rd column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #347) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #347, are…

• BIRTHDAY
• BABY
• WEDDING
• SYMPATHY
• CONGRATS
• LOVE
• SPANGRAM: GREETINGS

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and one of the biggest days of the year for makers, creators and purveyors of GREETINGS cards.

I get why you would send a card to someone you wanted to be in a relationship with. However, in order to make the most from their biggest shot at turning a profit outside of Christmas, companies such as Hallmark have convinced us that we need to tell our partners we love them in card format – even if we see them every day and can tell them our feelings in a way that’s much more personal than sending them a folded piece of paper with a picture of a train beside the words “I CHO-CHOSE YOU”.

The alternative view is that greetings cards are a nice thing and who wouldn’t want a card telling them they’re loved and worth sticking with, despite it all. Signed The Romance Grinch.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Wednesday, 12 February, game #346)

• TRAIN
• TOOK
• GIRL
• TOWN
• SMALL
• LONELY
• WORLD
• MIDNIGHT
• SPANGRAM: JOURNEY

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Wednesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, February 12 (game #612).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #613) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• GUILT
• MIGHT
• MOLD
• EGO
• POWER
• EXPRESSION
• TOKEN
• MUST
• HEAD
• WILL
• GUIDE
• GESTURE
• CAN
• MODEL
• SYMBOL
• BLUEPRINT

NYT Connections today (game #613) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: A pattern to follow
• GREEN: Giving regards 
• BLUE: A probability
• PURPLE: Add a word that rhymes with hip

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #613) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: TEMPLATE 
• GREEN: DEMONSTRATION, AS OF APPRECIATION 
• BLUE: MODAL VERBS 
• PURPLE: TRIP 

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #613) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #613, are…

• YELLOW: TEMPLATE BLUEPRINT, GUIDE, MODEL, MOLD
• GREEN: DEMONSTRATION, AS OF APPRECIATION EXPRESSION, GESTURE, SYMBOL, TOKEN
• BLUE: MODAL VERBS CAN, MIGHT, MUST, WILL
• PURPLE: __ TRIP EGO, GUILT, HEAD, POWER

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 1 mistake

I struggled with Purple and Blue today. Thinking that the link was about drive and desire, I made up a group containing MIGHT, WILL, EGO, and POWER before seeing the much more obvious MODAL VERBS.

I wonder if the art of compiling Connections is to make up a list of five words and then take the easiest and most obvious word out. If __ TRIP had included Road, then I think I would have got it. Although I may just be on an EGO trip.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Wednesday, 12 February, game #612)

• YELLOW: DOCUMENTS OF OWNERSHIP CERTIFICATE, DEED, RECEIPT, TITLE
• GREEN: BITS IN A VARIETY SHOW DANCE, MONOLOGUE, SKETCH, SONG
• BLUE: PROPS FOR CHARACTERS ON "THE SIMPSONS" DONUT, PACIFIER, SAXOPHONE, SKATEBOARD
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH "SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL" ANDROID, RATTLESNAKE, ROLLERBLADE, SHAKESPEARE

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

We won't use the word "finally," but...

• Apple has officially launched the Apple TV app on Android devices
• As of today, you can download the app from the Google Play Store
• MLS Season Pass will also be supported via Google Play's billing system

Starting today (February 12), Apple's TV app will be available to download off the Google Play Store, giving Android customers a very welcome surprise.

The app brings all the same great features that iOS users will be familiar with, like access to Apple TV+ and MLS Season Pass, and is also available in over 100 regions globally, including the US, UK, and Australia.

That means you'll be able to sign in or sign up for Apple TV+ and MLS Season Pass through the app just like you would on any iOS device. But be aware that your device (whether that's a phone, tablet, or foldable) has to support Android 10 or later to be able to use it, especially to ensure it works properly with the Google TV living room experience.

Don't have an Apple TV+ account? That's not a problem because you'll be able to sign up for an Apple TV+ free trial to try out the app for seven days before registering for a subscription.

What do we know so far about Apple TV's Android app?

The Apple TV+ homepage is coming to an Android phone near you. (Image credit: Apple)

Although the Apple TV app has been optimized for Android, a lot of the same great features are likely to still here, including the ability to see all the movies and shows you're currently watching across different devices in one place under the section 'Continue Watching'. You'll also still find your 'Watchlist' of saved movies and shows that you've saved to watch in the future.

The homepage largely looks the same as it does on any iOS device, with several rows of grouped content to create collections based on whether a movie or show is new, trending, the most-watched, or available to stream now. A dedicated section called 'Must See Hits' on Apple TV+ will likely replace the existing 'For You' section that most iOS users see. Most notably, the 'Store' tab at the bottom of the app is missing because iTunes store content will not be made available.

This slight change in the categorization of its content is one of our biggest indications that Apple is pursuing this Android rollout to attract new customers to its streaming service, and it makes a lot of sense when you consider that it has the smallest subscriber base of all the best streaming services.

Apple TV branches out

You'll be able to stream Friday Night Baseball via the Apple TV app on Android devices. (Image credit: Apple)

The Apple TV app's Android rollout comes at a great time for the company, as it gives more people the ability to finally stream hit shows like Severance season 2 as well as new Apple TV+ movies like The Gorge, which is releasing this Friday (February 14) on Valentine's Day.

It's also just in time for Major League Soccer's 30th season, which kicks off next weekend (on February 22), allowing those signed up for MLS Season Pass to get in on all the action with access to exclusive content, analysis, and coverage.

If you're a sports fan, you'll also be able to catch weekly games from Friday Night Baseball and Sunday Night Soccer, which is new to Apple TV+ subscribers in 2025, as well as all the best Apple TV+ shows and best Apple TV+ movies.

Make sure to check back in with TechRadar to find out how the Android version of the app performed compared to its iOS counterpart and what other differences we've spotted between the two apps.

In the meantime, let us know what you think about the Apple TV app on Android in the comments below.

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• Intel releases its sixth annual Product Security Report, outlining how it addresses security vulnerabilities
• Intel also slammed AMD and Nvidia, sharing unflattering stats
• Claims AMD has 78 vulnerabilities with no planned fixes, Nvidia has only high-severity security bugs

Intel has heavily criticized its two biggest competitors - AMD, and Nvidia - for alleged wide-ranging security troubles.

Its 2024 Product Security Report, the sixth such annual missive, discusses security challenges, how they were addressed, and why Intel has a “competitive edge” in security assurance. For its own solutions, Intel said almost all of the new vulnerabilities found in 2024 (96%) were discovered internally, adding that all of the hardware issues found were also discovered by its own research team.

Then it turned its attention to its rivals - claiming AMD reported 4.4 times more firmware vulnerabilities in its hardware root-of-trust, and 1.8 times more firmware vulnerabilities in its confidential computing technologies compared to Intel. It added that AMD discovered only around half (57%) of all the reported platform vulnerabilities, and that the company has 78 flaws with no fixes planned.

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Battle of the giants

For Nvidia, Intel said the firm reported 18 high-severity vulnerabilities, 13 of which were remote code execution flaws. At the same time, Intel’s GPUs only had 10 issues reported, one of which was a severe bug.

Both AMD and Nvidia have not yet commented on the report.

Reports like these should always be taken with a grain of salt since they’re one sided, but especially since Intel is competing with AMD and Nvidia in different fields.

When it comes to the CPU market, Intel is still the domineering force. However, AMD increased its market share by 5.7% in Q3 2024. On the GPU front, Nvidia might be the undisputed champion, but Intel has recently released Gaudi 3 as a competitor. Unfortunately for the company, it failed to hit its target and canceled its next-gen Falcon Shores lineup.

Via Tom's Hardware

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• Researchers find a faster way to etch deep holes for 3D NAND
• Plasma-based cryo-etching technique doubles etch speed, improving efficiency
• Faster etching might mean cheaper storage, but real-world impact is TBD

3D NAND flash memory is different from traditional single-layer NAND because it vertically stacks memory cells to cram more storage into smaller spaces.

The process involves carving precise, deep holes into alternating layers of silicon oxide and silicon nitride, and this has always been a bit slow, until now.

A team of researchers from Lam Research, the University of Colorado Boulder, and the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) has developed a plasma-based technique that can etch the deep, narrow holes required for 3D NAND memory at a much faster rate, a paper published in the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A claims.

Will it benefit end users?

The team’s approach uses a cryogenic etching process using hydrogen fluoride plasma rather than the traditional method.

"Cryo etch with the hydrogen fluoride plasma showed a significant increase in the etching rate compared to previous cryo-etch processes, where you are using separate fluorine and hydrogen sources," said Thorsten Lill of Lam Research. Using the new method saw etching rates for the layers soar from 310 nanometers per minute to 640 nanometers per minute - more than doubling the efficiency.

"The quality of the etch seems to have improved as well, and that's significant," Lill added.

The researchers also looked at the impact of phosphorus trifluoride. Adding it during the process quadrupled the etch rate for silicon dioxide, but it only had marginal impact on the silicon nitride layer. They also looked at ammonium fluorosilicate, a chemical which forms during the etching process when silicon nitride reacts with hydrogen fluoride. This slows down the etching process, but adding water was found to counteract this.

While the technical achievement is to be applauded, the practical implications are less clear. Faster, better etching rates may simplify and speed up production, but whether these savings trickle down to better or cheaper storage devices remains to be seen.

“Most people are familiar with NAND flash memory because it’s the kind that is in the memory cards for digital cameras and thumb drives. It is also used in computers and mobile phones. Making this type of memory denser still - so that more data can be packed into the same footprint - will be increasingly important as our data storage needs grow due to the use of artificial intelligence,” explained Igor Kaganovich, a principal research physicist at PPPL.

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• Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University published research that says AI is causing “the deterioration of cognitive faculties”
• The study involved 319 people who use AI tools at work at least once per week
• The survey-based study opens the door to deeper research into AI side effects

Brain rot is usually associated with endless doom scrolling of low-quality online content, but a new Microsoft Research study suggests that overusing AI might be causing “the deterioration of cognitive faculties.” Oh no.

Performed in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University, the study – titled The Impact of Generative AI on Critical Thinking: Self-Reported Reductions in Cognitive Effort and Confidence Effects From a Survey of Knowledge Workers – asked 319 participants who use “GenAI tools at work at least once per week” (such as Gemini, ChatGPT, CoPilot) to judge how AI usage at work was affecting their critical thinking skills.

It found that “while GenAI can improve worker efficiency, it can inhibit critical engagement with work and can potentially lead to long-term overreliance on the tool and diminished skill for independent problem-solving.” The study added that people's jobs are becoming less about solving problems and more about making sure the AI has correctly solved the problem – morphing our work from “task execution to task stewardship” – which led people to feel like their ability to think critically isn’t as sharp as it was before they started using AI.

Is it time to panic? Not quite yet

AI might still be a help not a hindrance (Image credit: Pixabay)

Seeing the headlines and reading the study it can feel like it’s time to pull the big AI lever and shut it all down for good in order to save our brains from being irreparably damaged by a tool that may be hurting us more than it’s helping us. But while the study certainly highlights challenges we desperately need to tackle in the AI space – ultimately the relationship between humans and AI we should be cultivating – it’s not quite as dire as it seems.

That’s because the study focuses on how AI users perceive AI usage is affecting their critical thinking. While the study uses a survey to quantify these feelings it comes down to how people feel and, more importantly, it doesn’t create a true quantitative comparison between frequent AI users and people who never or rarely use the AI.

While people who use AI a lot may feel they’re less capable of critical thinking it could be that because they’re not as distracted by less difficult tasks they can more easily tackle challenging ones thanks to AI’s help – or it could be there’s been no change in their critical thinking skills. But to measure actual changes in critical thinking we’d need a study with quantitative tests that compare different groups' ability (groups decided based on their AI usage) to complete tasks – including a control who never uses AI for work.

Until we have that kind of study it’s impossible to judge if AI really is making us dumber. However, that doesn’t mean we should just dismiss this Microsoft research.

Make AI work for you (Image credit: Shutterstock/SomYuZu)

Firstly, using this study as inspiration for a more quantitative study like the one I’ve described would be a fantastic next step. Secondly, while the participants' feelings may or may not represent factual reality, they represent reality for the people in this study – and they shouldn’t be dismissed.

If people feel like they’re simply AI stewards rather than performing meaningful work that could lead to dissatisfaction in their job. Some psychologists believe dissatisfaction with how we spend our time scrolling is the root cause of the social media brain rot experience (via the BBC). A similar sense of meaninglessness could be causing AI users’ similar brain deterioration feelings at work.

With AI becoming more prevalent we’ll need to work out how best to fight back feelings of deterioration, but a good first step will always be some self-care. Be that finding a new job that stimulates us, taking up a hobby that we can devote our freed-up brain power towards, or some other strategy that works best for you.

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• The Renault Filante concept car is aiming for electric efficiency records
• Single-seater commits all controls to steering yoke
• Renault’s director of advanced design says it could be seen on future cars

The new Renault Filante Record 2025 concept car cuts an imposing figure. Weighing just 1,000kg but measuring 5.12m long, it is more akin to a fighter plane or land speed record vehicle than it is a traditional concept car.

But rather than preview an upcoming passenger vehicle, the recently unveiled Filante has been developed to “push the limits of aerodynamics and energy efficiency”, according to Renault, providing the perfect blank canvas for engineers and designers to improve aerodynamics and therefore increase the range and performance of future EVs.

One of the innovations that the French company is exploring is the use of steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire technology, removing the mechanical connection between the driver and the vehicle controls completely.

Tesla fans will know that the Cybertruck arrived with steer-by-wire technology, which has proven a learning curve for some drivers. But Renault has taken things further with this concept by committing everything to the PlayStation controller masquerading as a steering wheel.

(Image credit: Renault)

“It’s something that liberates a lot of space in the interior,” Sandeep Bhambra, Renault’s director of advanced design told Top Gear. According to Bhambra, it’s also something that the company is looking at for future cars.

In essence, the Filante can be controlled entirely by the hands, making the driving experience more akin to a Gran Turismo session than a traditionally complex high performance machine.

Renault says that by removing the mechanical connections between key controls it liberates designers and engineers to create new possibilities in its platform and cockpit architecture.

Where EVs are concerned, this could lead to smarter packaging of bulky battery packs and electric motors.

Bring on the fighter jet for the road

(Image credit: Renault)

Although the Renault Filante Record 2025 is a rolling science lab, rather than a genuine look at the future of passenger cars, it riffs on a number of interesting ideas that are circulating the automotive industry at the moment.

Firstly, with increasing levels of automation, do drivers really need the traditionally bulky foot controls of yesteryear? Tesla certainly doesn’t think so, as it got rid of absolutely everything in its Cybercab concept.

Removing all controls frees up space for in-vehicle entertainment in driverless cars, but committing brakes and throttle to one, hand-operated unit in a more traditional car also lightens the load, which means future electric vehicles can be more efficient and offer a greater range from smaller and lighter battery packs.

Granted, not everyone will initially agree with Renault’s hand control idea – some might even say they are potentially dangerous – but advances in driver assistance systems and autonomous driving technology will soon take care a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to safety.

In addition to this, cockpit innovations like this could also free up automotive companies to work on more interesting, cleverly-packaged designs.

As we head towards the next chapter of transportation, do cars really need to look like the boxy, four-wheel things we’ve known for over a century?

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