BMW has unveiled a new, colour-changing car which has blown people’s minds. You can check it out in the video below:
The BMW iX Flow can switch between black and white shades using impressive, electrophoretic technology – as you can see in the above clip from electric car bloggers The Kilowatts (@klwtts).
Called BMW iX Flow, it involves a body wrap that is specifically designed to the lines of the car and uses electronic signals that bring different colour pigments to the surface. This has the effect of changing the colour.
The wrap uses the same technology found in eReaders such as Amazon’s Kindle. There are millions of microcapsules with a diameter equivalent to the thickness of a human hair.
Stimulating these capsules with electricity brings either the black or white pigments to the surface of the capsule, giving the car its colour.
The E Ink technology offers ‘unprecedented potential for personalisation’, giving the driver the ability to change their car’s style based on their mood or environmental conditions.
A mood dependent colour, interesting.
Changing the colour can also help to improve the efficiency of the vehicle.
For example, using white on a hot day will reflect more sunlight, which could take a little strain off of the air conditioning system.
Meanwhile, having a darker colour on a cool day can maximise the warmth absorbed by the car naturally.
BMW says in both cases, changing the colour to suit the weather could help the electric vehicle travel further.
Stella Clarke, head of project for the BMW iX Flow featuring E Ink, said: “This gives the driver the freedom to express different facets of their personality or even their enjoyment of change outwardly, and to redefine this each time they sit into their car.
“Similar to fashion or the status ads on social media channels, the vehicle then becomes an expression of different moods and circumstances in daily life.”
As people started to spot the car they took to social media to share how impressed they are. One wrote: “Okay this is sick ngl.”
Another made a very good point: “This would f*** me up running errands and forgetting where I parked while I push a cart full of s*** up and down the parking lot.”
Others have shared their suggestions that the SUV would be the perfect getaway vehicle.
One wrote: “This is huge strides in the ‘running from the cops’ line of work.”
Another asked: “How is this legal? Bro gon do a drive-by in a white car and turn it grey.”