Vehicle leasing companies love asking AI image generators to imagine anything and everything designed by car brands at the moment. In the latest such stunt, one company has asked an AI image generator to show what cities might look like if they were designed by several big carmakers.
It fed Midjourney, one of the best AI art generators, prompts based on specific design features from Tesla, BMW, Lamborghini and Dacia. Can you spot all the influences in the results?
The AI-generated BMW city was inspired by the company's headquarters in Munich (Image credit: Vanarama via Midjourney)
Vanarama created prompts for Midjourney that included details such as large panoramic windscreens in the case of Tesla, a description of the design of the BMW HQ in Munich, which is based on engine cylinders, Lamborghini’s bull badge and the design of the Dacia logo.
The exercise might sound like pure fantasy. Car makers haven't shown a huge interest in building cities since Fordlandia, developed to source rubber in the Brazilian state of Pará, was abandoned in 1934. But Toyota is currently developing Woven City, a real-world living laboratory, at the foot of Mount Fuji. It's expected that it could welcome its first residents next year.
Tesla is perhaps the most likely of these brands to really turn to building cities. It's produced a surprisingly wide range of unsual products, from cat trays to children's Cyberquads. Musk has not yet expressed ambition to design a whole city, but with SpaceX hoping to colonize Mars, it's not the most far-fetched idea.
A Dacia-branded city puts the company logo on Mioveni, Romania (Image credit: Vanarama via Midjourney)
The Tesla city is imagined as an evolution of Snailbrook, the town set up by CEO Elon Musk for Tesla, SpaceX and The Boring Company near Austin, Texas. The town has a current population of under 20 people, so the AI-generated vision represents a major expansion. Vanarama suggests that the roads would be capable of wireless charging, with magnetic coils below the asphalt transmitting a current to a coil on the underside of electric cars.
Lambo City as generated by Midjourney. Spot the carmaker's badge on the side of the canal (Image credit: Vanarama via Midjourney)
Meanwhile, the AI-generated BMW-designed city imagines the current BMW tower joined by a row of six cylindrical buildings as a reference to Beemer’s straight-six engines. Visible in the background are twin buildings inspired by the full-front grille of the BMW M3 and M4, while the city is lit in the colours of the brand’s sports-focused M division.
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The Dacia city is an AI-generated reimagining of the company's base in Mioveni, Romania. It mixes the town’s traditional architecture with modern materials and design cues from the Renault-owned manufacturer’s new lineup. Finally, 'Lambo City' is imagined as luxury coastal resort with angular skyscrapers and LED lighting from models such as the Revuelto. Lamborghini Lanzador rear lights line the waterway, while the road pattern reflects Lamborghini’s use of hexagons in its designs.
To learn how to use AI image generators, see our round up of the best AI art tutorials.
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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
