Alpine and the artist collective Obvious present the A110 Sastrugas, an “art car” made using artificial intelligence. Its livery inspired by the geometric patterns formed by the snow in the mountains represents what would be the ideal circuit for a racing Alpine.
Alpine presents an A110S transformed into an “art car” for the Art Paris contemporary art fair, which is being held from April 7 to 10, 2022 at the Grand Palais Ephémère, in the 7th capital district. After the virtual concept cars and other NFTs, the French manufacturer continues in a digital vein since this A110 Sastrugas, if it is physical, sports a livery generated by artificial intelligence (AI). This is the work of the French collective Obvious and it is the algorithmic representation of what would be the ideal circuit for an Alpinewith an aesthetic inspired by the phenomenon of sastrugas (or sastrugi), or the ridges and trenches of snow formed by erosion and saltation such as can be seen in the Alps.
Alpine’s sporting heritage digitized
Obvious brings together three artist friends and researchers specializing in crypto-art. To “feed” the artificial intelligence that enabled the creation of the A110 Sastrugas, they studied the circuit layouts on which the Alpine brand has distinguished itself in competition : Le Mans, Paul Ricard, Magny-Cours, Long Beach, Kyalami Pedralbes, Pescara, Montjoïc, Monsanto and Losail. The result is a layout transcribed by complex geometric patterns highlighted by white and several shades of blue. It is not about painting but about a “covering” by film.
These patterns were generated according to a model inspired by the sastrugas. Obvious member Gauthier Vernier explains:
“We analyzed the air friction on the body of the car at six points on our circuit on which the A110 would make a lap.“
Antony Villain, Alpine Design Director, adds: “ It’s not just a work, it’s a creative path. It starts with the car, which we will put in a certain situation with a certain level of performance, in which we will collect data from which we will create visuals, and these visuals will be generated again on the car . »
“When we design our cars, it is important to us that form follows function. Obvious’s work is art that follows data.“
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The perfect circuit for an Alpine to win
The AI-generated path was drawn on the left rear fender of the car. It includes a pit lane as well as a goose leg offering two alternative routes between two curves. At the bottom of the rear abacus was written the mathematical formula which underlies the algorithm used. The interior of the car features white door trims and some orange details such as the steering wheel midpoint marker and seat belts. Having the sense of the formula when it comes to the image of Alpine, Antony Villain sums up the complexity of the creative process thus:
“It is a winding road that takes us to the top of the mountain.“
For the anecdote, Obvious went so far as to create a topographic map of the A110 covering and 3D print the corresponding mountain range.
The Alpine A110 Sastrugas on tour
After the Parisian contemporary art fair, the Alpine A110 by Obvious will be exhibited at the Monaco F1 Grand Prix at the end of May. It will also be available at occasional events. The manufacturer has not yet defined the calendar of events. Finally, like the A110 by Felipe Pantone produced in 2021, the A110 Sastrugas could also be available in very small series. Will the price peak? Case to follow. For the record, the A110 Pantone was offered at €125,000.
The French collective Obvious started with an Alpine A110S.
The Alpine A110 is not the only French symbol in which the three members of Obvious are interested. In particular, they plan to propose, for the next Marianne, the image of a woman generated from bust portraits submitted by French women. To date, 5,799 participants have taken part in the game. The more numerous they are, the more the Marianne thus created will be representative of the diversity of French women. One website is dedicated to this participatory initiative.
