Mercedes’ Hyperscreen offers 56 inches of screen real estate, an inch more than the Cadillac Celestiq and eight inches more than the Lincoln Nautilus. Other notable mentions include the Cadillac Escalade (38 in), Lucid Air (34 in), and the Buick LaCrosse (30 in). Alfa Romeo has different priorities as internal research has shown its customers don’t really want giant displays that stretch from one corner of the dashboard to another.
Speaking with Autocar, the Italian automaker’s boss Jean-Philippe Imparato said future models will not receive massive screens: “I respect what Mercedes is doing with its digital technology, of course, but my customers aren’t looking for meter-wide infotainment screens in their cars or 200 digital assistance systems to switch on and off.” He went on to say the typical Alfa buyer doesn’t want to know what the weather will be like in three weeks as they just simply want to drive the car.
Imparato mentioned the “cannocchiale” (telescopic-styled, double-cowled instrument cluster) will remain, complemented by a large head-up display. Interestingly, Alfa Romeo’s top brass mentioned the HUD could project a “ghost car” to help the driver better position the car on the road. He added that the first model to get a new dash layout is scheduled to come out in 2025 and will adopt the STLA Brain electric architecture.
By 2023 standards, the screens offered by Alfa Romeo are small considering the Giulia and Stelvio have 8.8-inch displays while the Tonale gets a 10.25-inch infotainment. All three cars feature a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. Twinned with the Jeep Avenger, a yet-to-be-named fourth model is scheduled to come out next year as a small crossover to serve as the firm’s first EV.
In a previous interview, Imparato said future models are getting an infotainment with “special features” and a screen size “beyond 13 inches.” Upon stepping inside one of the next-generation models due in 2025, owners will be asked whether they’d like to drive themselves or let the car do all the work, according to Imparato. Frankly, that sounds easier said than done, but the idea behind what the CEO said is to avoid any confusion about how the car behaves – it’s either “manually” driven or not.
Since we mentioned EVs earlier, ICE-less Quadrifoglio models are already planned with as much as 1,000 horsepower and next-gen battery technology with support for wireless charging. Before the electric revolution starts, a gasoline-fueled supercar is set to break cover on August 30.
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