There’s something undeniably cool, and also a little sinister, about a black car speeding down the road, especially in a city at night where the lighting can play off the vehicle’s body. The marvels of modern chemistry mean that it is now possible to have an even darker machine by absorbing nearly 99% of light.
When you wear paints like Vantablack and Musou Black, a vehicle’s body even goes beyond the look of a matte finish. They look almost unreal on the road because even under bright lights they don’t seem to reflect anything, unlike anything we’re used to seeing in the world.
What is the difference
With regard to these colors, the Vantablack absorbs up to 99.96% of the light. It is the rarer of the two shades because the manufacturer Surrey Nanosystems requests a quote from customers before providing it.
Musou Black absorbs up to 99.4% of light. KoPro, its maker, sells bottles of acrylic paint for 2,500 yen ($18.20) for a 100 milliliter bottle. There are also versions available as adhesive sheets and fabric.
Porsche 911 Turbo
Video of a Porsche 911 Turbo in Musou Black has surfaced on the web and garnered a lot of attention. The clip shows the amount of prep needed to apply this paint. At the end, the driver takes the car on the road. During the day, it seems unreal. At night, the appearance of the vehicle becomes even more enigmatic as your eye expects the lights of Tokyo to shine on the body.
Ferrari SF90
This Ferrari SF90 presents a much bigger mystery. Despite the name of the video, we don’t believe it’s actually Vantablack. First, manufacturer Surrey Nanosystems does not generally sell to the general public. Also, the color is not black enough. As an alternative, this car may have Musou Black paint or the wrap available from KoPro.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
This Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is very special. We first saw it in the video below when the car received a coat of Musou Black paint. The first result was impressive.
The same painter then went a step further by applying a coat of HyperShift over the Musou Black. It wasn’t easy either. The process required combining the color change layer with thinner naphtha, then waiting for the naphtha to dissolve. The end result was a glossy finish with purple undertones that looked really neat.
BMW X6 BoastBlack
This is the only car that we can definitely say wears Vantablack paint. BMW unveiled this X6 in the super black color at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. Then for some reason the company displayed the crossover in a room full of neon lights. Unfortunately, this method of presentation made it more difficult to appreciate the blackness of the body.
32 Pictures
The press photos in the gallery below give a better idea of what this X6 looks like. There was also a video on Instagram video that showed it in motion for an idea of how this crossover looked in the real world.
26 Pictures
Subaru WRX
Custom vehicle painter Stillbruch Lack of Bergheim, Germany applied Musou Black to a Subaru WRX. The dark color really makes things like the lights and the red body badge stand out.
Daihatsu Atra
This Daihatsu Atrai kei car is ultra black, but this vehicle is unpainted. Instead, the body is wrapped in KoPro’s Fineshut Kiwami material. It absorbs up to 99.905% of visual light, which is more than Musou Black but less than Vantablack. The company sells a 190mm by 53mm section for ¥2,300 ($17) or a 480mm by 280mm section for ¥12,000 ($87).
Lada
Let’s say you can’t get Musou Black or Vantablack paint. The folks at YouTube channel Garage 54 tried to make their own version and applied it to a Lada. The vehicle was clearly not as dark as the other entries on this list, but the effort was worth it.
To make such black paint at home, the channel created a fine dust of carbon black, then mixed it with a clear coat to apply the material to the car body.