BMW has once again brought art to the car with a new i5. However, this one can do a trick that the 1991 original couldn’t.
BMW and art, then you naturally think of the many Art Cars that the brand has built. This mainly started with racing cars, but later road cars were also tackled. In 1991 it was already time for the twelfth Art Car by Esther Mahlangu, an African artist. This was the first time that both a female and African artist was asked for an Art Car.
BMW E34 by Esther Mahlangu
The BMW E34 by Mahlangu is quite unique due to the African style that was applied to the car. Extensive use of contrasting colors, black and white and straight lines. You can imagine this style being used for colored pottery. Quite a successful Art Car. So successful that BMW thought it was worth repeating.
NOSTOKANA
Don’t shout like that! At least, because the BMW i5 Flow NOSTOKANA is written with Caps Lock, it feels that way. Nostokana is Esther Mahlangu’s eldest son, so that’s why. Enough about the name, the technology behind the BMW i5 Nostokana is just as interesting.
E Ink
This is yet another application of BMW’s bodywork that can change color. Using the now well-known E Ink that was also used on the i Vision Dee and BMW iX. Those who were not familiar with it: BMW has been experimenting for some time with E Ink, which you may know from e-readers, for example, to produce the bodywork of a car. The BMW iX was therefore able to change from black to white, the Vision Dee brought some color into the mix.
Improvement
Why the original BMW E34 by Mahlangu was a perfect starting point for this BMW i5 Nostokana: the E Ink technology has gone a step further. This makes the colors better and especially brighter. The many colors of the original Mahlangu-Art Car almost look like they are really painted, but it can all change. Even the wheels have the colors! The dynamic effect is of course not clearly visible on pictures, so below is a video.
It is not known whether the E Ink technology will ever progress beyond promotional cars. Of course it’s nice as a gimmick to have a car that can change color, but to spend so much money on something that becomes nothing more than a gimmick? Moreover, an E Ink panel seems like a nice expensive panel to replace. You already spend so much on an LED Dynamic Laser Matrix headlight.
Read more? These are all 19 BMW Art Cars in a row.
Comments
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mashell say
The average BMW driver dreams of an e-ink car, how many shades of gray can you create with that!
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V8Vantage say
Haha, yes it is indeed difficult to find one with color. What (false?) modesty.
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V8Vantage say
Look, this is what I would choose for my car. Now a nice dashboard with real buttons as an option. I would pay extra money for that as an option.
