BMW i et le Garage Italia Customs présentent la BMW i3 et la BMW i8 Garage Italia CrossFade à Paris.

Munich. A collaboration between BMW Group Design and Garage Italia Customs has producedaninnovative colour and material concept oftwo concept cars based on current BMW i models. TheBMWi3Garage ItaliaCrossFade and theBMWi8GarageItaliaCrossFade will be presented on 30 September 2016 at the start of the Mondial de l’Automobile 2016 in Paris. The premiere in the French capital will also serve as an outlook on edition models of the BMW i3and theBMW i8. These models, whichbothfeature an exterior design derived from the concept cars,will becomeavailable at the beginning of 2017.

The common feature of the twoconcept cars is a surface structure that emphasises the groundbreaking design and the innovativecharacter of the modelsBMW i3and BMW i8in a fascinating way. The focus here is on a specific colour designthat was developed on the basis ofa common paintinggenreduring the late 19 th and early 20 th century and which provides for a particularly expressive appearance."Lapo Elkann is a pioneer in linking the disciplines of fashion, automobileand design. As a designer, I find this comprehensive approach particularly exciting,"says Adrian van Hooydonk, head ofBMW Group Design. "WithBMW i,we have been successful in overcoming previous restrictions in automotive design through the use of entirely new materials.So theprogressive expressiveness of the Garage Italia CrossFade Edition is perfectly in keeping withtheBMW i3and the BMW i8."

InJune2016, Garage Italia Customs had alreadypresented the BMW i8 Futurism Edition. Thisvehicle alsofeatured a body surface concept thatwas inspired by the art of painting. The design of theBMW i8 Futurism Edition, which was created on the occasion of the 50 th anniversary of BMW Italia, is based on the painting"Lampada ad Arco"by the futuristic artistGiacomo Balla. "Technological development and constant search for innovation are common key values to both Garage Italia Customs and BMW," adds Lapo Elkann, Chairman and Founder of Garage Italia Customs. "BMW i automobiles provideour designers with ideal opportunities for an artistic exploration of the future of mobility. The CrossFade project was a great opportunity to create something beyond the traditional idea of car painting, generating amazing effectswith a unique geometrical pattern."

The design of the concept cars now being shown in Paris was inspired byoptical colour mixing, a technique already used in Pointillism ofthe late 19 th century. Thispaintingtechniqueinvolves the creation of motifs using small and evenly distributed dashes of colour. Because the neighbouring colours are not intermixed, but only blend together in the perception of the viewer, a particularly intensive radiance is created. The selective variation of size and spacing of the individual dashes permits the creation of both precise and harmonious colour gradients.

On the body surface of the BMW i8 Garage ItaliaCrossFade , the accurately definedcolour changes between Protonic Blue metallic andProtonic Dark Silver metallic are used to intensively underscore the lines and surface contours. Moreover, the applied dashes of paint are triangular. Resulting from this geometrical shape, both the overall impression as well as the plug-in hybrid sports car’s dynamicsalready symbolised inthe design are accentuated even further.The colour designwas realised using a complex painting process in which the car finished inProtonic Blue metallic was initially covered with a stencilfilm. In this way,it was possible to create the desired geometrical pattern withexceptionally highprecision when the second layer of paint in Protonic Dark Silvermetallic was finally applied. Moreover, the interior follows the BMW i8 Garage Italia CrossFade ’s exterior design with the smooth transition from the dark silver ofthe front end of the car to the pure blue of the rear end printed on Alcantara textile that now covers the central tunnel, the side panels and the headliner. The surface structure of the interior andthe seats in Foglizzo leather, and Protonic Blue and perforatedAlcantarais effectively accentuated by the contrasting colours.

In the case ofthe BMW i3 Garage Italia CrossFade, the colour transition on the front end and the side panels flows in a vertical direction. The amount of bluedecreases as it risesupwards to merge with the black roof and bonnet. The smooth transition is createdby a transparentfoilingwith imprinted circular dashes of colourthatsymbolise the driving pleasure offered by the electrically powered five door car and become larger with increasing height.The distinctive colour designis also to be found in the interior, where high-quality textile and Alcantarasurfaces additionally emphasise the premiumcharacter of the car.Base colourin each case is Protonic Blue, which is now also optionally available for the BMW i3 and exclusively in conjunction with the 94Ah high-voltage battery.

About BMW i

BMW i is a brand of the BMW Group, playing the role of an incubator for networked mobility services, visionary vehicle concepts and a new understanding of premium which is strongly defined by sustainability. BMW i is represented in 50 countries with the BMW i3 (electric car for metropolitan regions) and the BMW i8 (plug-in hybrid sports car). BMW i also encompasses BMW iPerformance (all BMW plug-in hybrid automobiles), DriveNow (CarSharing), ReachNow (CarSharing 2.0), ChargeNow (easy access to the world’s largest charging point network), ParkNow (simple location, reservation and payment of parking spaces), the venture capital company BMW i Ventures (investment in start-up enterprises with a focus on urban mobility) and the BMW i Urban Mobility Competence Centre (consulting for cities).