When Lindsay Lohan stepped out of a black Rolls-Royce Phantom last year, her car wasn’t shining. Lohan’s choice of a matte-finished vehicle from BMW’s ultra-luxury brand underscored an emerging trend in the luxury auto industry.
“Matte cars are cool,” said Sebastian Vettel, the 23-year-old driver for Red Bull’s team who has won seven Formula One races. “They come across as a bit aggressive.”
Dull paint jobs are featured at the Paris Motor Show as never before, with image-conscious drivers seeking to rise above the glossy masses. Dull paints are a new phenomenon on modern cars because they are technically more complex than standard high-gloss paints and can be difficult to repair. They’re also pricey, with Volkswagen AG’s Lamborghini charging as much as 20,000 euros for a matte finish.
“Matte paint is a bit of a fashion trend; it’s quite stealth,” said Colin Couchman, an analyst at IHS Automotive. “But it’s a brave choice, when you’re spending that amount of money. Fashion could shift and you could have picked the wrong color or finish.”
Mercedes customers order matte paint, which costs between 4,200 euros and 5,400 euros, on as much as 3 percent of SL roadsters and CLS coupes, spokeswoman Verena Mueller said.
