Chrysler, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, used to produce a variety of models, but now it is best known for its Pacifica minivans. But now the company has made a bold statement about the future by unveiling a concept car that is as far from a minivan as possible.
Chrysler Halcyon is a concept high-tech roadster with an electric powertrain and fully autonomous capabilities. And although the automaker does not plan to put it into production, Halcyon is meant to show that the company is still alive and thinking about the future.
Chrysler intends to sell only electric vehicles from 2029, and Halcyon will serve as a demonstration of how the company will implement future technologies.
Halcyon combines a range of technologies from its parent company Chrysler, Stellantis, including the STLA Brain operating system, the STLA AutoDrive driver assistance system, and the STLA SmartCockpit information and entertainment system. The Halcyon concept is designed to integrate all of these products together as a single unified system.
Artificial intelligence plays an important role in this concept, as well as augmented reality and the connection between the car and the environment. This includes AI-powered voice assistants, predictive navigation, and software updates over the air. Chrysler Halcyon will remember driver habits based on preferences and can make changes in advance to things like heating, ventilation, and air conditioning when the driver gets into the car.
There are also plenty of visual and audio features to help create a zen-like environment. And in fully autonomous mode, the steering wheel and pedals retract to allow for a more comfortable seating position.
Chrysler representatives acknowledged that there is still work to be done before the company can offer full autonomy to its customers. "The functionality of autonomous driving is obviously quite developed at levels 2 and 2 plus. When we move to levels 3 and 4, we still need to do some work on development so that the driver can fully disengage hands and eyes while still meeting the safety requirements that we must comply with."
Among other futuristic and untested features is Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer technology (DWPT) for wireless car charging while driving, providing an unlimited range. The idea is that while driving on roads with inductive charging, if such can be found, Halcyon will charge. Chrysler claims that the concept is equipped with an 800-volt lithium-sulfur battery, which, according to the company's estimates, has a 60 percent smaller carbon footprint than other batteries for electric vehicles.
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