BMW Introduces First Ever Colour-Changing Car

Last year, BMW showed off their “colour-changing car” at CES, which was a special iX electric crossover fitted with various panels that could shift between black, white and gray. And before we could agree on whether those are real colours, BMW has debuted an upgraded version at this year’s CES featuring, indisputably, colours. 32 different ones in countless combinations.

The vehicle selected to show off the latest E Ink technology is an electric sports sedan concept named the i Vision Dee or, simply, Dee. Dee includes a host of futuristic features that may or may not make it to production models, such as adjustable windshield heads-up display and AI views on glass windows. E Ink, however, would likely see practical applications beyond the automotive industry, such as in e-readers, information displays, advertisements, etc.

BMW introduced Dee to the world in an almost 7-minute-long video starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, which honestly succeeds in making the viewer nostalgic for the past when cars and the driving experience were simpler. 

The E Ink technology used on the Dee is called a Prism 3 film, which consumes minimal power because it only uses electricity when changing the colour of the pigments. On the Dee, 240 segments of this 32-colour film/paper were used and each can be controlled individually, which means there are endless colour combinations. The segments on the grille were also be used to create various “facial expressions”.

Presently, the e-paper is too fragile for use on cars that are actually driven on the road. A light collision or even a wash would damage the panel. But the team at BMW and E Ink thinks they can achieve something more durable and according to a spokesperson, it won’t be as expensive as you might expect.