--- description: Google unveiled its first prototype of a fully-functional, self-driving car on Monday, with a pledge to send it for a test drive title: Google Unveils First Fully-Functional Self-Driving Car image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f28202986eb1c7d/6987709206f2c1fa79333115/vehicle-prototype.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's the First Prototype of Google's Self-Driving Car  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 22, 2014 9:23 PM CUT  Gordon De Los Santos—Google  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 22, 2014 9:23 PM CUT Google [unveiled](https://plus.google.com/+GoogleSelfDrivingCars/posts/9WBWP2E4GDu "undefined") its first prototype of a fully-functional, self-driving car on Monday, promising to send it for a whirl on its test track over the holidays. “Today we’re unwrapping the best holiday gift we could’ve imagined,” Google wrote in a post on the project’s official blog page, “the first real build of our self-driving vehicle prototype. ” Google’s engineers built a variety of prototypes from the ground up. Each model combined self-driving technology, such as laser guided steering, with car parts from conventional suppliers. “We’ve now put all those systems together in this fully functional vehicle—our first complete prototype for fully autonomous driving.” Project director Chris Urmson has previously [told](http://www.wsj.com/articles/google-seeks-partners-for-self-driving-car-1419026779 "undefined") the Wall Street _Journal_ that Google is not interested in manufacturing the cars themselves, but was looking to partner with existing auto makers in a bid to commercialize the technology in five years. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3644661/google-self-driving-car-prototype/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3644661/google-self-driving-car-prototype/"},"headline":"Here's the First Prototype of Google's Self-Driving Car","datePublished":"2014-12-22T21:23:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:04:00.591Z","description":"Google built the prototype from scratch, layering self-driving technology onto a patchwork of auto parts","url":"https://time.com/3644661/google-self-driving-car-prototype/","keywords":["Tech","Innovation","Google","cars","auto industry","self-driving car"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f28202986eb1c7d/6987709206f2c1fa79333115/vehicle-prototype.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4f28202986eb1c7d/6987709206f2c1fa79333115/vehicle-prototype.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Google self-driving vehicle","caption":"","creditText":"Gordon De Los Santos—Google","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3644661/google-self-driving-car-prototype/","name":"Here's the First Prototype of Google's Self-Driving Car"}}]}] ```