One-off BMW X6 finished in 'world's blackest black' to go on display in Frankfurt

By RELAXNEWS | 29 August 2019


MUNICH: At this year's Frankfurt Motor Show, which kicks off next month, BMW will display the only vehicle ever finished in Vantablack, the "world's blackest black" which makes objects finished in the colour appear two-dimensional.

Surrey NanoSystems - the creator of the "world's blackest black" pigment, Vantablack - has turned down requests from a number of car makers to cover a vehicle's exterior in the VBx2 nanostructure paint finish. But not when BMW came calling.

This extreme black was originally created for aerospace applications, as it absorbs "up to 99.965 per cent of light, almost completely eliminating reflectance and stray light."



In fact, not only does the eye understand objects covered in the material as being 2-D, a surface coated in the colour can also be "interpreted by the brain as staring into a hole or even a void." Naturally, such a paint colour would not be practical for driving on the highway.

The Vantablack VBx2 paint - specially designed to reflect 1 percent of light instead of just 0.035 percent - makes the curves of the X6 essentially invisible to the eye, without making it appear as a void.

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Ben Jensen, founder and Chief Technical Officer of Surrey NanoSystems said that such a paint worked well specifically on the BMW X6 because of its size and distinctive shape; it highlights the model's iconic grille, stylish headlights and taillights.

The Vantablack-finished BMW X6 will be on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show, which runs Sept 12-22, to celebrate the world premiere of the BMW X6 model.

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