BMW paint its new X6 in the world’s darkest paint

More white cars are sold in Australia than any other colour, mainly because they are easier to see. But the new paint on this BMW makes it almost impossible to see.

The world’s “blackest black” doesn’t sound like the ideal colour for a car. But that is exactly what BMW has used to coated its new X6 SUV.

Darkness is the absence of light, and the super black paint named Vantablack absorbs more than 99.9 per cent of light.

This is due to a complex micro carbon matrix structure that allows about a billion units fit in one square centimetre.

The BMW X6 appears as almost two-dimensional.

The substance was first developed by British company Surrey NanoSystems to coat items sent into space. The light absorbing paint was ideal for enhancing the view of distant stars and galaxies.

The BMW project is the first time the colour has been applied to a vehicle.

According to Vantablack inventor, Ben Jensen, this is because people would have struggled to see a car coated in the original substance.

Vantablack absorbs nearly all the light that touches it.

The human eye would see a substance coated in Vantablack as two-dimensional, removing all design features. The brain interprets this as staring into a hole or a void, which is a completely unsuitable and dangerous choice for a car colour as it would render the vehicle almost invisible at night.

But the company’s new VBx2 paint allows for just a hint of shape making the vehicle easier to view.

Vantablack makes the tail-lights pop.

“We realised that it wouldn’t have worked if we’d put on the original material, as the viewer would have lost all sense of three-dimensionality,” says Jensen.

The absence of light makes the vehicle’s windows, tail lights and chrome grille and badging pop.

“VBx2 with its one-per-cent reflectance provides just enough of a hint of shape. Add to that the contrast between the matt black surface and details such as the Iconic Glow kidney grille, the headlights and the windows — everything is just set off beautifully,” he says.

But Jensen doubts whether the material could be used on other vehicles.

“I think it worked really well on the BMW X6, because of the size of the car, its distinctive shape, and how imposing it is,” says Jensen.

BMW X6 painted in Vantablack, the world's blackest black.

“But putting a paint like that on a conventional car lacking a distinctive design would probably detract from it in some way. In addition, developing a Vantablack VBx2 car paint durable enough for daily use is a huge technological challenge.”

The Vantablack coated BMW X6 is set to make its official debut at the 2019 Frankfurt motor show in September.