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BMW i8 Futurism Edition Celebrates 50 Years of BMW in Italy

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BMW i8 Futurism Edition

2016 certainly is a big year for BMW. The automaker is celebrating its 100th birthday, the legendary BMW 2002 turbo is 50 years old, BMW has been doing business in Italy for 50 years, and the classic BMW 328 roadster is turning 80. To celebrate the BMW 328, the six of the vehicles will be running in the classic car endurance race Mille Miglia 2016. However, the race is bending a few rules so that the BMW 328 can bring a friend to the event.

To celebrate both the historic BMW 328 and the automaker’s 50 years of business in Italy, BMW Italia and Garage Italia Customs have collaborated on a very special commemorative car to celebrate the past, but also look to the future of auto manufacturing. The BMW i8, the totally electric EV, has been customized into vibrant, colorful car, called the BMW i8 Futurism Edition, well outside of its normal factory-approved shades. “Lampada ad Arco,” a painting by Italian artist Giacomo Balla (which hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC), has been recreated on the body of the car. Not only is the vehicle colorful, it actually glows. The artists behind the project say that it represents a street lamp under the moonlight being powered by electricity, just like the EV is.

BMW i8 Futurism Edition

Lapo Elkann, President and Founder of Garage Italia Customs, says “Garage Italia Customs and the BMW brand both share, in fact, all the values connected to technology evolution and the continuous search for innovation in their specific sectors. The BMW i8 Futurism Edition is a practice of style. It gave the Garage Italia Customs Maestros a chance to celebrate a car which is projected towards the future of mobility. At the same time, it honours Italian art with Giacomo Balla, who is a prominent figure of the Futurism movement.”

We dare you not to drool over this beautiful BMW. If this is what 50 years of collaboration with Italy looks like, we can’t wait to see the next 50.