It's been decades since the audiophiles at Bose (yes, that Bose) first started working on a new kind of electromagnetic car suspension system that could sense the road, keep the vehicle perfectly level, and provide an ultra-smooth ride. Incredible as early demos looked, "Project Sound" was deemed too heavy and costly to use on real production cars. That is, until now.

Bose eventually sold the technology to an active suspension company called ClearMotion, whose CEO recently told Autocar that no fewer than five major automakers have expressed interest in bringing its new version to market. In fact, the smooth-sailing tech, now dubbed the "digital chassis system," is headed for a "low-volume vehicle" in 2019 and on track to hit mass production in 2020.

It's worth reiterating just how promising Bose's Project Sound looked when it was formally unveiled in the mid-2000s after over two decades of research. Hatched in the mind of founder Amar Bose, who was known for both his love of obscure passion projects and his hatred for potholes, it was an audacious idea that saw traditional shock absorbers replaced with linear electric motors. The motors would extend and retract based on data from the road sensors, all of which had to be processed and acted upon in milliseconds.