This BMW i5 changes colours at the touch of a button

Customers had only one colour choice – black – when they bought a new Ford Model T in the early 20^th century. Thankfully, car-buyers today have a choice of colours but they can still only have one for their new car. If they want it changed, they have to repaint it, or use vinyl wrap film.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could change the colour whenever you wish? Such technology already exists, as the BMW iX Flow featuring E Ink showed in 2022. The colour-change technology  enabled switching from white to black at the push of a button. This was followed a year later by the first multi-coloured implementation when 240 sections of film applied to BMW i Vision Dee were able to display up to 32 colours.

The technology is still under development and the latest advancement now enables even more colours and patterns. At the same time, the sections of the film are more robust – which could make potential future series production easier.

Technology becomes art
The new technology is demonstrated on the i5 Flow NOSTOKANA which was displayed at the Frieze Los Angeles art fair over the weekend. “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. It combines art and design through progressive technology. Here, technology itself becomes art,” said Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design.

South African artist
The one-of-a-kind car with its colour-change technology developed by BMW also saw the involvement of Esther Mahlangu. This is the second time the South African artist has collaborated with the German carmaker, previously having designed the 12th BMW Art Car which made its debut in 1991.

“Her art inspired me years ago, back when the concept of colour change on a car was just an idea in my head,” said Stella Clarke, Research Engineer Open Innovations at the BMW Group. “Now, being able to realise this idea, and work with Esther Mahlangu, is absolutely surreal.”

The 88-year-old artist’s signature colours and geometric patterns are perfect for bringing the innovative Flow technology to life in the i5. The versatility of the electrophoretic colour changes makes the fully-electric sedan a dynamic work of art.

Electronically animated film
On the i5 Flow NOSTOKANA, which is named after Mahlangu’s first son, sections of film that can be electronically animated are applied, with two strips each across the roof, bonnet and rear section, as well as the vehicle’s sides.

Like an e-book reader, there are several million microcapsules in each E Ink film. The structure and arrangement of the colour particles they contain can be changed by applying an electric voltage. This allows the typical colours and patterns of Mahlangu’s art to be generated in constantly changing compositions.

Sound accompanies animations
The animations are accompanied by an equally extraordinary sound, specially composed by Renzo Vitale, the BMW Group’s Creative Director, Sound. To combine the soundscape of the BMW brand with that of the South African Ndebele culture, Vitale used sequences from Mahlangu’s voice, as well as the sound of the feather brushes she used for painting.

These were combined with sounds produced by the colour pencils employed in the BMW design studio and the acoustic signal heard as feedback when operating the i5’s touch display. This created a sound mix that starts off softly at the beginning of each colour change and increases in intensity as the animation progresses.

To accurately recreate every detail of the complex ornamentation, the i5 Flow NOSTOKANA has been fitted with 1,349 sections of film, each of which can be individually controlled. The laser cutting process used to trim the film and the electronic control design were developed in partnership with E Ink. The adaptation of the technology for curved surfaces, as well as the programmed animations, are all BMW Group in-house developments.

“It is fascinating to me to see how modern technology can expand my art and make it accessible to a completely new audience,” said Mahlangu of the fusion of art and innovation in the i5 Flow NOSTOKANA.