In the last years short distance radar (SDR) systems were developed for advanced safety applications. Near future production cars are expected to be equipped with multiple SDR sensors to allow an all around sensing of the vehicle's environment and therefore offer a versatile tool for occupant as well as pedestrian protection. On the other hand, another way to make traffic more safe is to establish inter-vehicle communication (IVC) systems that are able, for example, to inform the following traffic about possible hazards. This paper proposes an innovative device approach, the communication radar, for the fi rst time. A basic concept for a SDR based communication system for IVC is decribed. The system is based on a 24 GHz pulse SDR sensor and is designed to allow simultaneous sensing over a range of 20 m and communication at 1 Mbit/s up to 200 m range. Appropriate signal processing schemes were developed in order to minimize the disturbances between communication and sensing as well as disturbances from other systems of the same type. From the communication point of view, separated channels for data exchange, protocol handling, and emergency notification allow as much flexibility as possible for IVC needs. Since SDR systems radiate in limited angular ranges, a selective communication direction is easily established. In this way it is possible to exchange different content to different partners.