To be honest, most of us in the Autocar office assumed Mini had lost its 2015 desk diary and got its dates spectacularly wrong.

I mean, a press release issued on 10 April concerning a pair of magic spectacles that project information right in front of your eyes while you are driving must be a rather tardy April Fool’s joke, right?

It appears not: I had a demonstration of what Mini calls ‘Augmented Vision’ at the Shanghai motor show this week, and this system – one of many in development by car makers – is more convincing than it might at first appear.

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First things first: ignore the mock Elvis Presley frames. The prototype technology that powers the system is still quite large, and needs to be housed in large frames. If Augmented Vision ever reaches mass production, expect to be able to choose more sophisticated and considerably smaller rims to house the special lenses.

Several companies, including BMW Group Research and Technology and Qualcomm, collaborated on Augmented Vision.

The system is powered by a processor built into the upper section of the casing, which also incorporates inertial sensors and cameras. The sensors sense your head movement; the cameras determine the position of the glasses when the wearer is aboard the vehicle. The glasses also have two stereoscopic HD displays that enable three-dimensional vision, as well as WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS technology.

When you’re wearing the glasses, your view of the road is overlaid with 3D graphics that pop up without obscuring your field of vision. I wear corrective lenses, but the system can cope with that too.

Among the functions that can be projected are current speed, speed limits, navigation instructions, points of interest, street names and final destination. The data is always shown in the same spot above the steering wheel so that it doesn't obstruct your vision; turn your head to one side and the information disappears.

Augmented Vision hooks up to the existing Mini Connected system and other functions can be offered. For example, if you have your smartphone hooked up to your Mini, the system will show a small icon in your field of vision to alert you when a text message arrives. Press 'OK' on the multi-function steering wheel and the text will be read out to you.

An x-ray view effective renders A-pillars and doors see-through so that you can spot hazards in your blind spot. Augmented parking projects images from a camera housed in the farside mirror into the glasses, making it easier to keep your precious alloys away from the kerb.