Ever wished you could turn your black car white on a sweltering day? The chameleonic BMW iX Flow—the world’s first color-changing vehicle, albeit still a prototype—is wrapped in “E ink,” a 12-volt electronic coating that works something like a Kindle display and takes little energy to sustain, even in broad daylight. The flexible material was created in collaboration with a Taiwanese company of the same name. Though it’s only been made in grayscale so far (color is in the works), the potential is endless: energy savings amid an increasingly hot climate, of course, but also advertising and informational displays. And the fun factor is a huge selling point. “Aesthetics can’t be underestimated,” says BMW research engineer Stella Clarke.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Succession Was a Race to the Bottom, And Everybody Won
- What Erdoğan’s Victory Means for Turkey—and the World
- Why You Can't Remember That Taylor Swift Concert All Too Well
- How Four Trans Teens Threw the Prom of Their Dreams
- Why Turkey’s Longtime Leader Is an Electoral Powerhouse
- The Ancient Roots of Psychotherapy
- Drought Crisis Spurs U.S.-Mexico Collaboration
- Florence Pugh Might Just Save the Movie Star From Extinction
