The electric SUV BMW Flow can change its shade with the push of a button, transitioning from white to gray or black in moments. While it cannot go beyond the shades of gray and yet doesn’t possess the subtlety and depth of a real car’s paint, the effect is astonishing.
+ Check out the color-changing video.
The trick is not done with paint but with a special cut to fit the body panels of the SUV. The car employs the same kind of electronic ink technology (E Ink) used in e-readers. The colored panels were precisely cut to match the shape of the SUV’s body panels, and then the electrical wiring is connected to each section.
The panel surfaces contain millions of tiny capsules, each holding white pigments with a negative charge and black pigments with a positive charge. Electric currents bring one pigment or the other to the surface creating different shades. Once the color change is complete, the panels maintain the shade without needing further electric charge.
The SUV can be colored in one shade or different shades in different parts. Even the wheels can change colors. Adrian van Hooydonk, BMW’s head of design, described the BMW iX Flow concept as “an advanced research and design project.”
BMW has not announced plans to bring this kind of technology to a production vehicle. The automaker cited certain advantages in being able to change a vehicle’s shade at any given time, however.
“It gives the driver the ability to express different facets of their personality or even the joy of external change, and redefine this every time they sit in their car,” said Stella Clarke, project lead for iX Flow, in a BMW statement.
Secondly, it can make the vehicle more economical and comfortable. On hot days, a white object can reflect heat, keeping the cabin at a more comfortable temperature and decreasing the need for air conditioning. On the other hand, a black object absorbs more heat and helps keep the cabin warm on cold days, reducing the need for heat and ventilation.
