Secret Cars - by François Mercier (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

What if Ferrari had made a camper van? Or Lamborghini had built a school bus? This tongue-in-cheek gift book with mind-boggling AI-images of imaginary secret models is for everyone who loves cars and pop culture.

"Imaginative and stylish, this Wes Anderson-inspired book is a must-have for car enthusiasts" -- (Knightsbridge, Autumn 2024)

"An ideal purchase for any car lovers in your life" -- Amateur Photographer

"the perfect gift for car fanatics" -- Elle Decoration
"Car industry - make Mr Francois head of concept immediately" -- Strong Words

"'Mr Francois' turns wild ideas into extraordinary images" -- Classic & Sports Car Magazine

What if the world's leading car manufacturers had secretly started building totally surprising models? With the help of artificial intelligence, Mr. François (François Mercier) set out on a fun and creative journey to find answers to this question. The Brussels-based film director and photographer trained himself to become a 'promptographer' someone who creates images with the help of artificial intelligence, starting from a prompt, which is a number of words describing the image. So the images of cars in this book aren't photographs in the true sense, because they don't show reality. They do, however, look very realistic, showing cars that don't exist but could perfectly have existed. Or maybe even should have. What if, for example, Ferrari had made a camper van? Or what if Lamborghini had built a school bus? Or what if you could drive a luxurious six-seater limousine that's a Mini? This book shows us what these outside-the-box car creations would look like in astonishing realistic-looking and aesthetic photos. Funny, imaginative, and good-looking: this little book is the perfect gift for car enthusiasts or anyone who's intrigued by AI-creations.

Review Quotes

"'Mr Francois' turns wild ideas into extraordinary images"--Classic & Sports Car Magazine

"the perfect gift for car fanatics"--Elle Decoration

"An ideal purchase for any car lovers in your life"--Amateur Photographer

"Car industry - make Mr Francois head of concept immediately"--Strong Words

"Imaginative and stylish, this Wes Anderson-inspired book is a must-have for car enthusiasts"--Knightsbridge

"In a new art book, Brussels-based film director, photographer and car enthusiast Mr François answers the automobile questions you never thought to ask. What would it be like if Ferrari made a camper van? How cool would a Mini stretch limousine look?"--The Guardian

"The images in Secret Cars: 300 Promtographs, published this month, show models that may not be real but are a convincing case that they deserve to exist."--The Guardian

About the Author

François Mercier is a Belgian commercial film director and photographer.