2023 Tech Round-Up: The Best New Technology Of The Year

2023 Tech Round-Up: The Best New Technology Of The Year

These are the year’s finest new automotive innovations.

Over the course of 2023, CarBuzz has unearthed several new patents detailing the technology of tomorrow’s automotive industry, some of which have explored ways to prolong the life of the combustion engine while others have targeted increased practicality. Some have also been wacky, covering subjects like shapeshifting wheels, joystick steering controls, and color-changing headlight lenses. We’ve also seen an unexpected increase in patents for suicide doors, with both coming from mainstream automakers that want to steal market share from more prestigious brands.

This list will cover how Porsche is making the combustion engine more efficient, how Ford is reinventing the humble truck bed, how Ferrari is reimagining car control, and how the cars of tomorrow will become more aerodynamically efficient than ever, among many other topics.

All of the patents linked and discussed here (with the exception of one mention of a Lamborghini development) have been discovered and broken by CarBuzz this calendar year.

Porsche has filed numerous patents this year, with the bulk of them exploring new methods for increased combustion efficiency. Among them is a method showing how variable compression can increase efficiency, using blow-by to help kickstart an engine. Another idea sees turbo gasses divided and used in different ways, such as instant boost or conserved energy for a later boost. Zuffenhausen is also exploring the possibility of bringing racecar tech to the road with pneumatic valves, potentially resulting in the ability to rev the 911 GT3 of the future past 10,000 rpm. Finally, Porsche is also looking at refining the idea of pre-chamber combustion, again increasing efficiency.

While Porsche has focused on the gas-powered engine, Ford has been obsessed with increasing the practical applications of the humble pickup truck. One of the biggest developments in this regard involved a sliding crossbar and robotic arm combination being added to the bed, with this arm enabling several other attachments, including a 3D printer. The company has also created exterior body parts that can double as traction boards, frunks that double as refrigerators, innovative new tailgate systems, and even a crazy bolt-on third axle to turn your truck into a six-wheeler. Ford has also developed a mobile cinema, new roof-mounted accessories, and a combination of parts to create a luxurious glamping truck.

Ferrari has been exploring several means of improving driver skills without the help of a physical coach. One method that looks very promising is the idea of a vibrating seat that informs the driver when they’ve made a mistake, while another posits that drivers can be coached with visual aids projected onto the windshield, for example, giving the driver virtual instruction like a Forza/Gran Turismo driving line.

Perhaps a more fascinating idea is that of bodywork that moves with the suspension or that of integrated racing-style air jacks, but the idea that Maranello has been most interested in this year would take things deep into the realm of science fiction with joystick controls. Interestingly, Hyundai is also considering this method of steering, as well as videogame controllers.

In the electric age, efficiency is more important than it has ever been, and if an automaker can make a car just 1% slipperier, the battery pack can be much smaller. The battery pack is the most expensive part of an EV, so it’s especially critical. Volvo’s approach imagines a flexible rear wing that adds downforce the faster you go, while Hyundai’s takes inspiration from the world of Formula 1 with deployable ground-effect side skirts.

General Motors is also showing motorsports inspiration with a drag reduction system for more efficient towing, while Porsche is considering a shapeshifting longtail. Of course, a slippery car also pays dividends when it’s powered by gasoline, and Stuttgart’s geniuses are also developing an exhaust that doubles as a diffuser.

We kid, but automakers aren’t taking the evolution of in-car safety lightly. Ford is developing a vibrating seatbelt that reminds you to buckle up, and Porsche has created what could become one of the most important inventions for the electric age: an external display panel that informs first responders of critical EV info, such as how to disconnect the battery pack, how to put that specific fire out, and how to avoid cutting into high-voltage components, for example, when extricating crash victims.

Porsche is also toying with the idea of tech that can help you avoid running a red light even when that light is obscured from your vision, while GM wants your self-driving car to never even see a red light. Another cool idea is from Subaru, with its anti-tailgating technology that can help reduce road rage. Meanwhile, Ford has filed two patents for inflatable bumpers that would make trucks and SUVs safer without compromising approach angles.

Ford is developing sci-fi-like anti-eavesdropping technology and a mobile cinema, several automakers (including Nissan, Ford, and Hyundai) are creating tech for airless tires, and GM is working on heated and ventilated seatbelts. It also has a patent for a system that can automatically detect a wheel alignment issue, but we were more excited by Porsche’s patent for remote camber adjustment. Lamborghini is working on something similar, and Sant’Agata is adding toe adjustability, too.

Hyundai is imagining a walking car and a flying car with a detachable drone, and BMW wants to put the Interaction Bar from the 7 Series into the exterior lighting systems and offer color-changing cars to the masses while Toyota would rather offer peelable paint.

Ford is perfecting squeak-free brakes, and Honda wants to overlay your windows with augmented reality for immersive in-car gaming while also working on integrating a detachable shopping cart with the frunk (weird, we know). But is it as weird as Nissan and its carbon fiber engine block?

It’s been a wild year with crazy ideas, and we can’t wait to see what new inventions arrive in 2024, as well as which of 2023’s developments make it to production.