Mazda MX-5 RF to Feature Machine Gray Premium Color Designed to Compliment KODO Design
March 22 2016 - 8:15PM
JCN Newswire (English)
Mazda Motor Corporation has announced that the Mazda MX-5 RF
will be available in Machine Gray, a new premium color designed to
accentuate the beauty of vehicle bodies featuring KODO design.
Machine Gray is Mazda's second premium color following Soul Red,
which since its launch has come to represent KODO design. Machine
Gray will be made available on a wide range of Mazda models,
including the all-new Mazda CX-9 due to go on sale in North America
this spring.
Mazda believes that color is one of the elements of form, and has
focused on developing colors that accentuate the subtle yet dynamic
surfacing of KODO design. Machine Gray was developed to express the
beauty of a machine's strength and precision. With strong contrast
between light and shadow and a sleek, high-density finish, it gives
the impression that the vehicle's body has been sculpted from a
solid steel ingot.
Traditionally, achieving such a finish was only possible with
hand-painted concept cars using paint containing extremely thin
aluminum flakes applied in multiple layers by master craftsmen. By
further developing its TAKUMINURI(1) painting technology originally
created for Soul Red, Mazda has made it possible to achieve the
look on mass-production vehicles using a three-coat paint structure
consisting of color, reflective and clear coats.(2)
The reflective layer contains extremely thin, high-brightness
aluminum flakes and must be applied very precisely to ensure even
coating. During the drying process the thickness of this layer
shrinks to approximately 2.5 microns, about one quarter the
thickness of most reflective layers. This causes the aluminum
flakes to lie flat with regular spacing between each flake, just as
if the layer had been hand-painted by a skilled craftsman. This
high-density finish gives the entire surface a sheen when
illuminated, for a realistic metallic look. Jet-black pigment is
used in both the reflective and color layers and is visible through
the spaces between the aluminum flakes giving areas not illuminated
a black hue and heightening the contrast between light and
shadow.
Aiming to become a brand that has a strong connection with its
customers, Mazda will continue to develop new colors and the paint
technologies to realize them, based on the belief that color is one
of the elements of form.
(1) Mazda's paint technology that gives mass-production vehicles
the precise, high-quality finish that looks like it has been
hand-painted by a master craftsman.
(2) Does not included the electrodeposited layer.
About Mazda
Mazda Motor Corporation (TSE:7261) started manufacturing tools in
1929 and soon branched out into production of trucks for commercial
use. In the early 1960s, Mazda launched its first passenger car
models and began developing rotary engines. Still headquartered in
Hiroshima in western Japan, Mazda today ranks as one of Japan's
leading automakers, and exports cars to the United States and
Europe for over 30 years. For more information, please visit
www.mazda.com
Source: Mazda
Contact:
Corporate Communications Division
Mazda Motor Corporation, Japan
+81-3-3508-5056 [Tokyo]
+81-82-282-5253 [Hiroshima]
mailto: media@mazda.co.jp
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