There’s something about nighttime that evokes different emotions. When driving on the expressway, the feeling is second to none. While supercars are designed to be appreciated in their full glory during the daytime, rarely has anyone thought about designing a fast four-wheeler that’s designed for the night, first and foremost.
This is DarkSky International’s take on a supercar that is designed with “darkness at the center of its vision.” Marking its debut at the Detroit Auto Show, the DarkSky One is the first-ever car that’s designed for “nighttime first.” This reminds me of While Bane’s words in The Dark Knight Rises, “You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it.” Unlike other supercars that are focused on performance and looks, this one is inspired by the lack of light.
Designer: DarkSky International
The focus with the matte black-skinned supercar is on the lighting and how it affects the ambient environment. Maker wants to minimize light pollution with such automobiles, rather than going the conventional way of having brighter headlights shining high beam at oncoming traffic. That too, without even mentioning the auxiliary options to light up cars, making them shine out among other vehicles. According to them, the artificial light ruins the night, and the darkness helps drivers see better. It is equipped with LiDAR units that analyze the environment to adjust the headlight beam and direction to have a ninja-like road presence.
The forward lighting direction is adjusted with the All Beam Adaptive Driving Lights that toggle the brightness levels depending on the road ahead and the relative distance to other motorists. That’s an important feature as it reduces glare for oncoming traffic. The buck doesn’t stop there as the car has side lighting on doors, hood, and the side panels so that the car’s presence doesn’t overpower the ambient natural lighting. Perhaps the perfect commute for people who love to enjoy the Moonlight and stargazing on the quaint roads. Fewer beaming lights means reduced stress for wildlife as well, which is another major factor. DarkSky says that the supercar has polarization and reflection physics which are present in every “window, door and body angle to reduce specular reflection, maximizing viewability at all angles.”
DarkSky International has not mentioned any performance specifications of the vehicles yet, signaling their deep focus on DarkSky One’s muted presence. While improving visibility and consequently road safety are the maker’s prime objectives, the resulting light pollution also goes down. This is important in a world where we are gazing at bright lights even in the darkest hours of the day. Hence, this design hints at a shift towards peace and calm. The matte black color has a micro-textured pattern so that stray lights and glare from other vehicles are suppressed. As they love to exclaim that the body lines are “shaped so the night can breathe.”
