BMW kicks off 2022 with iX M60 and Australia designed colour-changing tech

German carmaker BMW has entered 2022 with a bang, revealing its latest iX M60 electric offering at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Los Angeles, and new technology designed by Australian engineer Stella Clarke that allows the exterior of the car to change colour at the touch of a button.

The iX M60 will launch in Australia in mid-2022, the company said on Wednesday. It will be the third iX variant to reach our shores, and according to BMW showcases the best of its i, X and M offerings.

The iX M60 will join the XDrive40 (also available in a Sport trim) and xDrive50, which are priced between $135,900 and $169,900. With the M60 sitting at the top of the range, expect its pricing to edge towards the $200,000 mark.

For that, you get up to 455kW power from two electric motors for a 10 second burst; maximum power output for longer that sits at 397kW, compared to the xDrive50’s 385kW and the xDrive40’s 240kW. This delivers 1,015Nm torque (comapred to 765Nm for the xDrive50 and 630 for the xDrive40), and acceleration from a standing start to 100km/hr in 3.8 seconds.

A hefty 112kWh battery offers up to 566km driving range (WLTP), and a maximum 200kW charge rate adds 150km in 10 minutes at an ultra-fast charging station. At home this will take a little longer; with a battery of that size it will be wise to invest in a wall charger to achieve the top AC charge rate of 11kW.

Seen from the outside, this BMW iX M60 differs little from a classic iX with an (even more) aggressive appearance thanks to 22-inch aero rims, sport brake calipers painted in blue, Titanbronze trim and M logos on the fenders and tailgate.

But this perhaps pales in significance to the chameleon-like tech also revealed at CES by the German carmaker on what it calls the iX Flow.

“Digital experiences won’t just be limited to displays in the future,” said Frank Weber, development manager at BMW.

“There will be more and more melding of the real and virtual. With the BMW iX Flow, we are bringing the car body to life.”

Designed by a technical team led by Australian engineer Stella Clarke, the colour changes are made possible by a body wrap designed to fit the lines of the all-electric SUV. When stimulated by electrical signals, electrophoretic technology brings different color pigments to the surface.

“We see a number of benefits for our customers,” said Clarke in a video about the technology. “The first is personalization self-expression; you choose the clothes you wear in the morning, you choose your social media status and you choose the colour of your car.

“Another benefit of e-ink is we can show information on the exterior of the car we can show you the battery status we can show you if a car sharing car is free or if it’s been cleaned or if you’ve lost your car in a parking lot, we can make it flash and then you can see it in your
peripheral vision.”

Electro-phoretic colouring is based on a technology developed by E Ink which is best known for screens used by e-readers. The surface coating of the BMW iX Flow contains several million micro-capsules, the diameter of which is equivalent to the thickness of a human hair.

Each contains white, negatively charged pigments and black, positively charged pigments. Depending on the setting chosen, stimulation by means of an electric field causes pigments to accumulate on the surface of the microcapsule, giving the car body the desired colour.

But a variable body colour can also contribute to the interior temperature and to the energy consumption of the car. Want the car to warm up on a hot day? Change it to a dark setting. Or on a hot summer day, change it to a lighter colour.

And unlike screens or projectors, electrophoretic technology requires absolutely no energy to maintain the state of the chosen color constant. Current only flows during the short phase of colour change.

The effect is stunning, and conversely belies the simplicity of the technology.