--- title: "BMW Shows Off Car That Changes Color at the “Touch of a Button”" description: "Here's a video of an electric BMW that can literally change the color of its paint job with the press of a button. We still don't know how it works." date: "2022-01-05" modified: "2022-01-05" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/bmw-car-changes-color" categories: - "Advanced Transport" tags: - "BMW" - "electric cars" - "the digest" --- # BMW Shows Off Car That Changes Color at the “Touch of a Button” ![Here's a video of an electric BMW that can literally change the color of its paint job with the press of a button. We still don't know how it works.]() *\Image: Out\_of\_Spec via Twitter\* ## Changing Colors Here's something wild we didn't expect to see at this year's CES convention in Las Vegas: an electric BMW that can literally change the color of its paint job with the press of a button. A video that's [gone viral on Reddit]() shows a sleek SUV puttering around a parking lot when it suddenly switches its exterior color from a pearl white to a medium gray in an instant. Oddly enough, the charging port cover stayed white, while the rest of the vehicle darkened. A [different video]() shared on Twitter shows swirls of grey move across the vehicle like a dark cloud. Sure, it's a bit gimmicky — but CES is all about gimmicks. And the feature may have other uses, too. "Perfect for when you need to lose your stars," one Reddit user chimed in, referring to the "[wanted level]()" in the video game franchise "Grand Theft Auto." https://twitter.com/Out_of_Spec/status/1478490873121837057 ## Electric Chameleon In December, BMW [issued a statement]() that it will show off "the first-ever demonstration of a technology that changes the exterior color of a vehicle with the touch of a button," but didn't elaborate on what that would look like or how it would work at the time. One Twitter user [suggested]() that the color-changing tech could involve a temperature sensitive finish, but BMW has yet to comment. Only a few people will be able to see the car in person, thanks to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. "Out of an abundance of caution, BMW will move all planned media activities at CES to a fully online program from Germany on January 5," reads a [statement from BMW](). While we're still not entirely clear on how the carmaker managed to pull off the chameleon paint job, we're pretty certain on one thing: this vehicle will be turning a lot of heads at CES this year, given the [hype on social media](). **More on BMW:** *[BMW Posts, Deletes Ad About Sex Inside Self-Driving Cars]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()