What's the most exciting car tech coming in 2025?

At the start of a new year, it’s typical to look to the future and as Top Gear’s resident breakdancing traffic cop at the intersection between cars, video games and technology, I’m pleased to report that there’s lots to be excited about as we head into the sci-fi year of AD2025. Here’s just a small selection of the technologies that I have my eye on.

As a simracer, one gaming trend I’m interested in is the shift in emphasis from graphical fidelity towards higher frame rates, as we approach the limit of just how many beard hairs it’s necessary to render on a Call of Duty character’s face.

Even I struggle to explain the concept of frame rate without slipping into a protective coma, but here goes: the short version is the more frames a game can throw at you per second, the smoother the game looks on the screen and, crucially, the more responsive it feels, which is hugely important for racing sims.

Sony’s recently released a gaming monitor, the M10S, that can send 480 unique frames to the screen every second. This means your iRacing steed will feel as responsive as real life, though I must warn you, your number of excuses for failing to catch that oversteer will also reduce by one.

As far as automotive technology is concerned, I’m less excited about AI assistants that seem like a jumped up version of the Microsoft Word paperclip, or even the prospect of a robotaxi that can drag my snoring carcass back home after an evening at the pub, and more interested in the dry practicality of the solid state batteries that a number of manufacturers will continue trialling in 2025. These promise greater range, quicker charging and less risk of turning into a £40,000 barbecue.

In spite of everything, I still believe the ideal two car garage of the future contains a 400-mile EV for tedious daily use and something with cylinders, preferably eight or more, for weekend fun. I know some people are convinced that hydrogen fuel cells are the one true future of sustainable motoring, but those cars aren’t going to be significantly more entertaining to drive than an EV and if you think the infrastructure for electric charging is poor, just Google your nearest hydrogen fuel station. Five bonus points if it’s in the same county as you.

Finally, with the recent arrival of Apple Vision Pro, it feels like we’re really on the cusp of some exciting advancements in augmented reality, where your view of the real world is blended with virtual reality objects and information. Imagine watching Formula One, but also having a live, GPS-powered 3D track map laid out on the coffee table in front of you.

The tech already exists, obviously, as does the F1 app, but the primary obstacle to overcome is miniaturising the technology to the point where you no longer look like an idiot wearing the headset. If they can squeeze it into a pair of glasses that don’t look like hand me downs from Mr Magoo, then we really will be living in the future.