1) Apple vs Android
The mobile phone superpowers bring the battle to your car, with apps, maps, Cloud etc. No mention of how you get a signal.
2) Downsized hybrids
Emphasis has switched from refining the electric motor to improving the efficiency of the diesel engine mated to it. Hence, the rush to cut cylinders. Top Trumps will never be the same.
3) Laser headlamps
As used on Audi’s Le Mans racer, laser lights can see twice as far as today’s LEDs – a staggering 600m. They use less energy, weigh less and will last as long as the car. An option on BMW’s i8.
4) Turbocharging
Forced induction is the only way for car makers to meet moral and legislative demands. Even Ferrari is going turbo, and all future 911s will be blown too. Wither responsiveness?
5) Hybrid Air
Peugeot-Citroën’s riposte to petrol-electric is a fiendishly complex tech in which electric gubbins is replaced by hydraulics, primed by a nitrogen bladder.
Click below for the rest of CAR’s top 100 moments of 2014:
The nine best sports cars of the year
Four seismic Nurburgring laptimes
Eight cars that changed our minds about electric power
Top six people we talked about
Six wishes for 2015
Six back-from-the-dead stories
Six things we said goodbye to
Top 10 motorsport moments
Seven things we never thought we’d see
Six biggest disappointments
Top 10 quotes of 2014
10 great CAR magazine features from 2014