ROME – Interest in matt liveries is growing and Audi, after the top of the range, extends the matt paint finish to the compact TT and Q3 models. For the small sports car and the mid SUV, both produced in the Hungarian Gyor plant, the color palette is expanded with Python yellow, Dew silver, Daytona gray and Floret silver. According to the designers of the house of the four rings, the matte finish enhances the silhouette of the cars, the clean lines and the muscular profiles, giving a touch of exclusivity. “Design is the main reason for purchasing an Audi – explains Susan Nolte, body color manager of the Audi product marketing optional equipment division – And color is extremely important as an expression of personality and character.
However, before a paint job becomes available, a complex approval process is required ”. The Color & Trim departments of Audi Design and Product Marketing work on the color palette of a model: the design specialists develop the colors based on the trends identified by the design studios active in Ingolstadt, Beijing and Malibu, then the names are defined , often essential for the success of a coloring.
“It is crucial that, through the denomination, it is possible to grasp a descriptive element of the shade – adds Nolte – while the second part of the naming is a tribute to the creative aspect, even in this case, however, with a connection to the specificity of the color. The matt effect is a particularly popular variant for sports models “.
As an example, Audi is inspired by terms taken from geography, but also by the worlds of flora and fauna, while the names of the racing circuits are important for the colors intended for sports models. Thus, for the first time, Audi is dedicating matt paints to the Audi TT and Audi Q3, produced in the Gy? R factory, where the paint shop occupies an area of 43,000 square meters. At the end of the painting cycle, transparent matt varnish is added to the base coat, filler and base color, with the opacifying agents represented by silicate particles. The overall thickness of the layers is between 40 and 50 microns, or between 40 and 50 thousandths of a millimeter.
At this point, the matte varnish is ready to reflect the light in a diffused rather than directed way (as happens for the other colors), giving life to the original “matt” effect. Before obtaining the integration of the matt painting process into the standard production system, a careful set-up was carried out and after the rigorous laboratory tests, the ten robots of the painting plant were also programmed in a specific way. . The matt livery is now available for all versions of the Audi models produced in Gy? R, namely TT, TTS, TT RS Coupé and Roadster, Q3, RS Q3 with the related Sportback variants. (maurilio rigo)