It's been fascinating to watch the intersection of virtual and augmented reality technologies and the automotive industry. From giving rise to virtual dealer showrooms to facilitating immersive real-time remote design collaboration for new models, such technologies are already helping to reshape the industry for the 21st century. But we tend to believe the best is yet to come, and it seems now almost routine that some new car-related implementation of VR or AR arrives.

The latest auto industry implementation of augmented reality technology comes from Porsche, which has launched a new mobile app to allow potential customers to put a brand new Porsche in their driveways - virtually, of course.

Available for both Android and iOS, the Porsche AR Visualizer app uses your mobile device's built-in camera and accelerometers to render a brand new Porsche wherever you are, right on your phone's screen. That way, you can better visualize exactly what it will look like in your driveway, at the beach, or parked outside the grocery store.

App users have access to the full color palette and model range - including the groundbreaking Porsche Taycan EV - so they can conjure up a digital representation of exactly the Porsche they want. Want to explore the interior? The app will generate that for you, too. Users can even use it to generate cutaway views of underlying technologies, such as powertrains, and to view visualizations of each model's aerodynamics.

It's a simple use of existing augmented reality technology, but one that seems to go hand-in-hand with the social distancing being practiced around much of the globe; using the Porsche AR Visualizer app, potential customers don't have to visit the showroom in order to get a full, in-depth look at the sports car of their dreams.

Porsche is not new to advanced digital visualization technology, using augmented reality as a tool to assist technicians with difficult vehicle repairs and partnering with holorider to explore the use of VR in in-car entertainment.