Mr Francois, it’s a pleasure to virtually meet you! Virtually seems like a very fitting word in the context of what we are here to talk about – please tell us in as simple turns as possible what it is you create?

I am an advertising film director and a still photographer based in Brussels, Belgium. Since some months now I became also promptographer, the process of creating images with the help of artificial intelligence by using a prompt. So, when I started playing with this new technology, I quickly realised that as a car fanatic I was finally able to answer the questions I was asking myself forever. What if the world's leading car manufacturers had secretly created some surprising models? What if Ferrari had made a camper van, or Lamborghini a garbage truck? As I quickly found out, the possibilities truly are endless.

There’s something rather comical about seeing your version of a Ferrari 308 being used as an authentic Italian fruit stall – are there any of your creations you would absolutely love to see created into the real thing?

I guess I would pick the Ferrari Minima S2 (above). It’s from the 80s, my teenage years where I developed my interest into cars, and it is so small I could put it in living room and enjoy the view every day. Humour also plays a big part of a project like this, at the end of the day it is playful fun, but more seriously, some of the cars I generate are absurd, while others are more realistic. A Jaguar Type W, the campervan-come-supercar would make sense don’t you think? If I find one, I’ll come to visit you, Elliot!

If we’re looking at the images in terms of image composition, I absolutely love the Citroën 1CV, which is also a car I would love to see brought to life.

While virtually you’re an avid collector of six-berth Ferrari F40 motorhomes and a 300SL Gullwing Wagon, what car or cars do you own in your real life?

My daily is a Mini Cooper S 2021, and I am the very proud owner of a beautiful 1969 Peugeot 504 Coupé designed by Pininfarina. The car is blue and has a magnificent matching velvet interior. It’s a joy to look at and to drive and people are always very positive and curious about it. I also own a very funny Honda Elite 250 from 1986. It’s a white motor scooter which looks like it comes from a Star Wars movie…

Tell us a little more about the process of creating each artwork, is it something you envision or is it built up over many different layers?

I prompt in 3 languages, English, French, and Dutch, as the results will be different. Once you begin with it you start to understand how the AI is working, how it understands and interprets your prompts, which is the enjoyable part of the creations. It can be a lot of work, as the process needs to learn your prompts correctly, but the results be returned very quickly considering the detail in some of the images. One key, and very important aspect for me is to not hide it is AI generated image - I’m not trying to fool people. More often than not, strange errors happen, which I like to keep in the images. If you take the time to look carefully at my images you will realise that some people have 3 legs and some cars have no doors that can open, further cementing that these creations sadly aren’t the real deal!

You can discover Mr Francois' full 'Secret Cars' gallery here.