This new colour-changing BMW was designed by a famous South African

BMW has once again called on the renowned South African artist Esther Mahlangu for its latest creative project.

Fusing art with cutting-edge technologies, the new i5 Flow Nostokana – named after Mahlangu’s first son – is a one-of-a-kind example that pays tribute to the Mahlangu-designed Art Car of the 1990s.

In 1991, Mahlangu became the first woman and first African to create a BMW Art Car based on the 525i of the time. While there have been many others since then, few have been as well received as the South African’s interpretation of a moving sculpture.

The new electric 5 Series therefore features colour-changing panels developed by BMW’s Stella Clarke with a design crafted by the 88-year-old Mahlangu herself that harkens back to the original.

Commenting on her newest creation, the artist said: “It is fascinating to me to see how modern technology can expand my art and make it accessible to a completely new audience.”

The i5 Flow Nostokana was revealed at Frieze Los Angeles at the start of March, at the same time as Mahlangu’s 525i Art Car is being displayed in Cape Town for the first time in over 30 years.

Tradition meets technology

To accurately recreate the artist’s complex colours and patterns, the i5 Flow Nostokana is fitted with 1,349 sections of film each of which can be individually controlled.

Each piece of film incorporates several million microcapsules of E Ink – similar to an e-book reader – that can change the structure and arrangement of the colour particles within them in seconds by applying an electric voltage.

“This allows the typical colours and patterns of Mahlangu’s art to be generated in constantly changing compositions,” said BMW.

“The versatility of the electrophoretic colour changes makes the fully-electric sedan a dynamic work of art.”

The colour-altering panels can display over 32 colours and are more robust than ever before, which could make potential future series production easier.

Accompanying the vibrant decorations is a specially composed soundtrack devised by Renzo Vitale, the BMW Group’s Creative Director of Sound.

Combining 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, combined with the sounds produced by the colour pencils employed in the BMW design studio and the acoustic signal heard as feedback when operating the BMW i5’s touch display.

This created a mix that starts off softly at the beginning of each colour change and increases in intensity as the animation progresses.

BMW i5 Flow Nostokana