XPENG has just subjected its latest self-driving AI to the most unpredictable variable in motoring: Richard Hammond. In a move that feels like a high-stakes social experiment, the company’s XNGP system was tasked with chauffeuring the Grand Tour legend through the urban grind. While Hammond is a man more accustomed to oversteer and the occasional spectacular mishap, the AI navigated tight gaps and awkward parking spots with a serene, almost eerie competence. You can practically see him off-camera, his muscle memory screaming for a handbrake to yank—a classic symptom of ‘petrolhead anxiety’ when faced with a car that is, quite frankly, behaving much better than he would.
