Can’t decide on a colour? BMW have you sorted.
BMW showcased their first colour changing car.
German car maker, BMW revealed the BMW iX Flow, it’s first colour-changing car at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January.
This is great news for those like me who’re indecisive when it comes to choosing their next car’s exterior colour.
Its body features E Ink technology, which is also used in many e-readers such as Amazon’s Kindle line.
At present, the colours are constrained to black, white, and grey. However, BMW says this could have benefits such as switching to white when out under the hot sunlight as white surfaces don’t absorb as much heat as black ones. It is unknown how well this technology will perform in extreme weather such as during storms and hail showers.
“The surface coating of the BMW iX Flow featuring E Ink contains many millions of microcapsules, with a diameter equivalent to the thickness of a human hair. Each of these microcapsules contains negatively charged white pigments and positively charged black pigments. Depending on the chosen setting, stimulation by means of an electrical field causes either the white or the black pigments to collect at the surface of the microcapsule, giving the car body the desired shade.” – The Verge.
The feature could be controlled from inside the car or via a smartphone app and the user would have multiple combinations to choose from, such as grey with white racing strips.
The BMW iX Flow is a concept car and BMW has stated at CES that the technology used to change the exterior colour will be “expanded to cover a spectrum of colour” – Reuters.
It’s unknown at this point how much this feature will cost as an extra. Maybe it’ll be standard on future cars.
We’d love to know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Joseph Catley - SYPC Media Manager
