Want to know what it feels like to drive a performance car? Lexus Australia and  M&C Saatchi Australia’s creative tech division, Tricky Jigsaw, have produced a custom RC-F Lexus coupe covered in electroluminescent paint which pulses in time with a driver’s heartbeat.

The first stage of the system works by transmitting the heartbeat of a connected person from a heart rate monitor to a bespoke electrical system in the RC F. This system captures and processes the data before sending an electric charge through the car’s body panels that are painted in electroluminescent paint developed by US specialist, Lumilor, that glows when hit with an electric charge.

So the paint displays the person’s heartbeat via a real-time animation sequence: the car lights up and fades in the same pattern as the driver’s pulse rate.

This car took about six months to build, but Lexus sees the project as step one towards creating cars capable of recognising the emotions of drivers. If a driver is experiencing road rage or extreme sleepiness, the car may be able to react accordingly, preventing accidents or reckless driving.

Ben Cooper, group innovation director of M&C Saatchi Australia, noted, “Mapping man with machine provides an interesting investigation of control,” Ben Cooper, group innovation director of M&C Saatchi Australia. “We think the data might show a different view of who’s really driving…Perhaps other data such as weather and traffic could also lead us to understand optimal times to drive?”

Lexus Australia chief executive Sean Hanley commented, “This latest concept follows other innovative projects we have developed this year including smart outdoor advertising billboards that respond to the car you’re driving and our fantastic new Lexus hoverboard…The heartbeat car also links to another key part of our brand – high performance vehicles – via our F brand, and the emotional response a person gets from a machine like the RC F coupe.”