At CES 2022, BMW has shown a car that can change color. BMW iX Flow can be freely repainted in black, white or any shade of gray. The car can change color as a whole or in parts, creating very bizarre colors.
Although this model cannot go red or, say, green, in the not too distant future it is quite possible to realize a much wider range of colors. Unfortunately, they will not be as bright as the usual paint.
Project manager Stella Clark considers color changing to be a very practical feature. The white color, which better reflects the sun’s rays, will help keep the coolness in the summer, while the black color, on the contrary, will allow the car to warm up in the winter. In this case, energy is required only at the moment of color change, while the air conditioner burns it constantly. Also, the owner might find the car faster by making it shimmer in black and white. Whether this is enough to justify the price of the BMW iX Flow and make it profitable for mass production is still a big question.
And this car is not planned for mass production either. According to the company, this is just a concept.
Color change is possible thanks to E-Ink electronic paper. The entire body of the machine is covered with a thin layer of this material. BMW said it took 10-20 tries to get all the e-paper segments right. The BMW iX Flow has been coated with a special protective coating over them.
Previously, BMW demonstrated a car coated with the blackest substance in the world and ordered the sound of an electric car engine from Hans Zimmer.
