Just a few months ago, the BMW i8 CrossFade Edition – which was designed jointly with Garage Italia – celebrated its official debut, but the car is being shown again at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show. The rolling work of art is being built in a limited edition of only 20 copies worldwide. The CrossFade bicolor look combines the well-known exterior colors Protonic Blue and Protonic Dark Silver, giving the wing-door sportscar a more special appearance.
The distinctive design comes from Lapo Elkann, who, as President and founder of Garage Italia, is responsible for the implementation of numerous creative ideas on all kinds of luxury goods. His artistic talent has been promoted from the outset by his grandfather and long-time Fiat boss – Gianni Agnelli – and is now evidently finding his way to a rare special model of the BMW Group.
“Lapo Elkann is a pioneer in linking the disciplines of fashion, automobile and design. As a designer, I find this comprehensive approach particularly exciting,” says Adrian van Hooydonk, head of BMW Group Design. “With BMW i, we have been successful in overcoming previous restrictions in automotive design through the use of entirely new materials. So the progressive expressiveness of the Garage Italia CrossFade Edition is perfectly in keeping with the BMW i3 and the BMW i8.”
On the body surface of the BMW i8 Garage Italia CrossFade, the accurately defined color changes between Protonic Blue metallic and Protonic Dark Silver metallic are used to intensively underscore the lines and surface contours.
Moreover, the applied dashes of paint are triangular. The color design was achieved using a complex painting process in which the car finished in Protonic Blue metallic was initially covered with a stencil film. Therefore, it was possible to create the desired geometrical pattern with exceptionally high precision when the second layer of paint in Protonic Dark Silver metallic was finally applied.
The interior follows the BMW i8 Garage Italia CrossFade’s exterior design with the smooth transition from the dark silver of the 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 and the seats in Foglizzo leather, and Protonic Blue and perforated Alcantara is effectively accentuated by the contrasting colors.
Of the world’s 20 copies of the BMW i8 CrossFade Edition, according to our information, only a single vehicle is intended for the German market, so this i8 is bound to be a special collectors item.
