‘Car of the future’ is totally customisable & changes COLOUR & pattern while you drive – are you bold enough?
BMW have revealed a “car of the future” that is totally customisable and changes colour and pattern while you drive.
The i5 Flow Nostokana features “E Ink” technology that allows the sections of art along the side, bonnet and roof to be electronically animated with “several million microcapsules”.
Presenting a fusion of art and innovation, this model recalls the BMW Art Car designed by South African artist Esther Mahlangu in 1991.
Known as the 12th BMW Art Car, it was based on a BMW 525i.
But almost 35 years later, Mahlangu has once again collaborated with the German vehicle company for this project.
Named after her son, Nostokana, the i5 Flow features sections of film that can be electronically animated, with two strips each across the roof, bonnet and rear section, as well as the vehicle’s sides.
The structure and arrangement of the colour particles they contain can be changed by applying an electric voltage, BMW claim.
This allows the typical colours and patterns of Mahlangu’s art to be generated in constantly changing compositions.
The i5 is also the first all-electric BMW to be given the Art Car treatment.
Andrian van Hooydonk, the head of BMW Group Design, has lauded the futuristic design.
“The BMW i5 Flow Nostokana honours the history of the BMW brand and continues the story of our global cultural engagement in a unique way,” he said.
“It combines art and design through progressive technology. Here, technology itself becomes art.”
Unfortunately for BMW Art Car buffs and motorists in general, the BMW i5 Flow Nostokana remains a one of a kind vehicle, according to the firm.
However, the innovations introduced by E Ink technology hint at a future where such dynamic designs could become a staple in production vehicles.
And it’s certainly not the first time something with similar cutting edge technology has been proposed.
BMW showcased the exact colour-changing feature back in 2022 in the iX Flow, which had the ability to turn its exterior from white to black at the touch of a button.
This was expanded on with the i Vision Dee which could produce up to 32 colours.
Elsewhere, a YouTuber test drove the world’s most futuristic motor that can run for 1,000 miles on solar power.
The bizarre-looking three-wheeled car even boasts a “sleep pod” in the rear that can open out using a hidden button to reveal enough space to sleep two adults.
And another vehicle also considered to be the world’s most futuristic car was revealed last month – and it’s unlike anything that’s come before it.
Glossy and bubble-like in appearance, the autonomous float hover machine is based on the same technology as Tesla’s hyperloop.