Porsche Has A Wild New Patent For Vanishing Racing Stripes

Porsche has an interesting new patent filed in Germany. Documents filed by the brand with the Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt (German Patent and Trademark Office) show Porsche’s plans for a film applied to a car that can change color. The documents use racing tapes as an example, illustrating that Porsche could change the color of the film by passing an electric current through it.

Porsche has some ideas for the concept beyond just changing the color of a car’s racing stripes, as interesting as that is. On the one hand, the brand claims that the system could be used to indicate the charging status of a future electric Cayenne, so that the battery percentage is easily visible at a glance at the vehicle. The other idea revolves around driving modes: imagine the color of the car’s stripes changing from green or blue for an economical driving mode to red for sportier driving modes. Of course, if they matched the rest of the vehicle’s paint, they might disappear completely.

See the 4 images in this gallery on the original article

Images in the patent (above) show the film used in several places, including on the bodywork, on the rear wheel arches and on the rear diffuser, which draws air from underneath the car.

This may all sound familiar to you. BMW showed off a concept at CES a few years ago, showcasing a “paramagnetic coating” on an SUV. The concept was capable of changing color and individually illuminating different body panels, all controlled from inside the vehicle. This is not a new technology, but no automaker has successfully put this technology into production in this way before. There will likely be technical hurdles to overcome, but perhaps by using the film in a smaller application, Porsche will have a better chance of introducing this technology to its lineup. But for now, the idea remains just a patent. It may be years before Porsche implements this measure, if it ever does. Automakers have a habit of filing patents simply to keep others from beating them to the punch.

This story was originally published by Men’s Journal on April 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men’s Journal as your preferred source by clicking here.