“This is not a designer’s wet dream, this is well-researched and thought through with a lot of innovation,” says Klaus Zyciora. The VW Group design boss is referring to the Gen.Travel concept – an autonomous level 5 car, for despite its radical looks it is still more car-like than mobility pod – developed with the Group Future Center arm of the German OEM giant.

The Gen.Travel concept is a vision of what premium travel might look like in 2040: a box of innovation is how Zyciora describes it and one which is intended as a premium replacement for short, regional flights. “We know that short distance flying is not a nice experience anymore. “This service picks you up at the door and takes you to your destination whether it is a holiday or business reason trip: it is a first class replacement for train and short flights – and it has zero emissions.”

According to Zyciora the Gen.Travel has a range of 700 kilometres. “We are working with QuantumScape (of which VW owns a considerable stake) on battery technology and they have already made huge leaps forward in terms of longer ranges and lower weights.”