And now, it's time for something completely different. Art Cars aren't anything new, and we've seen some pretty abstract creations over the years. Simply being abstract isn't what makes this Alpine A110 different. Glimpsing the creative mind of an artist is always special, but what happens when that mind is actually a number-crunching computer?
That's what makes this art car different. Alpine calls it the A110 Sastruga, and it's the brainchild of artists – human artists – at the Obvious collective. Working with Alpine over the course of several months, Obvious fused the world of racetracks and artificial intelligence (AI) to create the visual design you see here. It's supposed to represent an imaginary racetrack, so keep that in mind as you peruse the images below.
Gallery: Alpine A110 Sastruga Art Car By Obvious
According to Alpine, the artists took inspiration from numerous tracks around the globe where the automaker "has distinguished itself on." That includes everything from pit lanes to acceleration and braking zones, and that information somehow made it into a computer. The exact nature of that translation process isn't explained, but hey, that's what makes it art.
At least, that's the human element in this artistic crusade. From there, Obvious used AI to turn these translations into the design seen on the A110 Sastruga. While inspiration comes from tracks, the foundation for the project is sastrugi, a term used to describe snow that's been eroded by wind. That explains the interesting geometric patterns and colors seen here, though it's brought to life using algorithms, machine learning, a special equation, and more science-type stuff that, frankly, we don't understand.
And you know what? That's just fine, because this A110 looks pretty cool.
"Obvious succeeded to capture the DNA of our brand to create an original and unique piece of art highlighting our firm outlook on the future," said Alpine SEO Laurent Rossi. "Obvious and Alpine share the same ambition: to use technological innovation to reinvent ourselves and explore an ever-expanding field of possibilities. Through this collaboration, we are proud to contribute to the emergence of a new form of creation and be associated with these visionary artists."
