Motorists on the road rarely need to see the tarmac directly beneath them, but when driving a 4X4 off road being able to see exactly what the terrain looks like immediately in front of the wheels can be extremely useful to avoid any large rocks in the way.

Traditionally, 4X4 vehicles have their engine at the front, and the bonnet obscures the driver’s view of the terrain at close quarters, but Land Rover are developing a “Transparent Bonnet system” to combat this blind spot.

To see through the bonnet, Land Rover have mounted cameras in the grille, and projects the image onto the car’s head-up display, making the bonnet appear transparent to the driver.

The automaker will present this futuristic technology at the 2014 New York Auto Show next week as part of its new Discovery Vision Concept