2008 Opel Insignia

Bold new Vectra to drive itself!

It's the car Vauxhall claims it doesn't want you to drive! Meet the sensational new Vectra, a machine the Luton manufacturer says will be the world's first driverless vehicle.

According to our spies, the revolutionary technology that's set to make this possible is called Traffic Assist, and is currently being developed at the firm's engineering centre at Rüsselsheim, Germany. Set to debut soon after the family car's launch in 2008, it uses lasers, a video camera and huge computing power to read the road ahead, spot warning signs, lane markings, bends and, most crucially, other vehicles.

The data is processed to control the engine, steering and brakes to keep the car a safe distance from the traffic. Flagship Vectras will get the system by the end of the decade. Rivals, including Honda, already have similar technology, although Vauxhall's Traffic Assist is thought to be the most ambitious set-up. And the innovation needn't end there. Parent company GM is researching special body panels which repair themselves after an accident.

The blemish-free bumpers are possible because of a special alloy, which expands when an electrical current is passed through it, heating it up. The expansion and then contraction of the panels as they cool removes minor bumps. Based on the Epsilon 2 platform, the new Vectra promises to be bigger and more practical than the current car.

The range will be wider, too, with high-performance four-wheel-drive variants under development. Penned by a team led by Bryan Nesbitt - who replaced stylist Martin Smith, now at Ford - the Vectra continues the design seen on the latest Astra and recently revealed Antara SUV. It's aimed at Ford's 2007 Mondeo, and will offer a fresh range of petrol and diesel engines, including an aluminium evolution of the 3.0-litre V6 CDTI oil-burner.

Set to be a 2.7-litre with at least 200bhp, this unit is being developed alongside a new 2.8 V6 petrol to power flagship saloons and hatches.

Yet the future looks less rosy for the Signum. It's tipped to be quietly dropped in favour of the Future Large Vehicle - an all-new crossover revealed in issue 871.

Am gasit intre timp poze la rezolutie mai mare si doua spy-shots cu un mule.