Nissan’s IDS Electric Concept Paves The Way For The Fold-Away Steering Wheel

Two years have now passed since Nissan first promised it would deliver a commercially viable self-driving car by 2020, a pledge that seemed bold verging on dangerous at the time. Today, Nissan showed what kind of car might carry such a system five years from now, and if anything, the future looks like it might come even sooner than expected.

Dubbed the Nissan IDS, the concept combines radically sharp bodywork with an electric drivetrain powered by a 60-kWh battery—good enough for roughly 200 miles, much like the upcoming Tesla Model III and the Chevrolet Bolt. To offset the weight of the batteries, the body was made from carbon fiber, and while the shape has too many blades and pivots for everyday use, it’s not that far removed from what a radically redesigned Leaf might resemble.