Expect to See More Artfully Designed Vehicle Wraps

Epson wrap on Bugatti Veyron autoDESIGNERS. If you were asked to design graphics to wrap one of the most expensive sports cars in the world would you put logos for Epson and SkinzWraps on the hood? Didn’t think so.

But that’s not the point. What’s interesting about this project is that it demonstrates that vehicle wraps aren’t just for posting advertising graphics on buses, trucks, and delivery vans anymore.  In the not-too-distant future, owners of luxury cars might hire designers to produce more artistic wraps to personalize their own prized vehicles.

At least that’s what the makers of printers and wrapping materials are suggesting. At the SEMA 2010 expo for sellers of automotive specialty performance products, Epson America, Avery, and Skinzwrap joined forces to design, print, and install this wrap on a Bugatti Veyron worth an estimated $1.7 million.

“Designing and applying a wrap to an automotive masterpiece like the Bugatti Veyron requires the ultimate degree of skill and concentration, the right material, and the best printing technology imaginable,” commented Peter Salaverry, CEO, Skinzwrap. This project was printed on Avery’s MPI Supercast 1005 media and output on an Epson Stylus Pro GS6000 printer. It took seven days to complete the design, print the wrap, and apply it to the car.

Most importantly, at the end of the show the car was transformed back to its original design.

Of course this isn’t the first time a high-end luxury car has been wrapped in custom graphics. In July, the seventeenth BMW Art Car, designed by artist Jeff Koons, took part in the 24 Hours of LeMans race. As part of his creative process, the Koons collected images of race cars, related graphics, vibrant colors, speed and explosions. The digitally printed graphics were designed to evoke power, motion, and bursting energy and give the car a dynamic appearance even when it’s standing still.

Jeff Koons designed the graphics for this 2010 BMW-GT2 Art Car ©BMW
Image of Koons BMW Art Car
The rear view of the 2010 BMW GT2 Art Car suggests a burst of speed. ©BMW

The BMW Art Car project started in 1975 when French racecar driver Hervé Poulain commissioned American artist and friend Alexander Calder to paint the first BMW Art Car.  Other BMW Art Cars have been designed by artists such as David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol and exhibited in the museums such as the Louvre, the Guggenheim Museums, the Shanghai Art Museum.

Another indication that custom-decorated vehicles might be gaining traction was Original Wraps’ launch of a new program that allows auto manufacturers, car dealers, and automotive retailers to offer an on-demand vehicle customization program.  Ford Motor Company offers the service through fordcustomgraphics.com. MINI USA offers the program through MINI Motoring Graphics.

So, yes! We’ve seen plenty of commercial vehicles customized with imaginative branding and advertising graphics. Now, let’s see what happens when more designers get involved in customizing personal-use vehicles.