WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2024
A Florida businessman plans to coat his $2.5 million Pagani Utopia hypercar with crushed Moon rock in a world's-first customization job.
Kris Singh, a car collector in Miami, Florida, plans to ground and mix a certified piece of Moon rock into a custom paint for his one-of-a-kind car, in partnership with Italian car manufacturer Pagani.
First announced in 2018, Aston Martin had agreed to build a one-of-a-king Valkyrie finished in a custom “Karosserie Lunar Red” paint with actual Moon dust. Singh had also revealed at the time that he acquired a Moon rock for the project, saying the idea was inspired by Valkyrie “looking like a spaceship.”
However, at the end of last month, Singh revealed on Instagram that he cancelled his Aston Martin order for his dream car, and that Pagani would now be the first automaker in the world to build a car with Moon dust paint.
“During the 8 years I waited for my Valkyrie, Aston Martin lost their partnership with Red Bull, the value of the company tanked, Adrian Newey left the project, the company changed ownership, and the current sad shell of a once great brand decided they are not capable of handling the extremely valuable Moon rock,” Singh wrote. “Their loss. The show must go on.”
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A Florida businessman plans to coat his $2.5 million Pagani Utopia hypercar with crushed Moon rock in a world's-first customization job. |
He also said that Pennsylvania-based company Karosserie will create “an epic new color never seen before” with Moon dust for the project.
While he did not mention the actual car that will feature the special paint other than saying that it will be ready “sometime in the next 12 cycles of the Moon,” reports indicate it will be a one-off version of the Pagani Utopia.
“Pagani is still led by Horacio Pagani and being the son of a baker in Argentina who went on to conquer the automotive world, he is certainly not afraid to mix it up with the moon,” added Singh. “This project is very special to me. I look forward to sharing it with all of you.”
According to reports, Singh would be the first human to own a car painted with actual Moon dust, putting him “on the map” for his collection of rare and exclusive vehicles. It’s reportedly unclear what shade the Moon rock paint will now be.
Other Luxury Paint Jobs
Back in 2022, German paint manufacturer Mankiewicz Coating Solutions and aircraft painting and exterior coatings specialist MAAS Aviation teamed up to paint a plane to match the owner’s Bentley.
To achieve this, the team color matched the tones, tested them together and then worked out the ideal application process. Matching the car, the plane livery features blue and brown tones that blend into a color gradient of rose gold.
However, MAAS noted that there were challenges when completing the task, including that the special livery had to be hand-painted rather than automated and that the aircraft had to be airborne again in a very short time.
The companies used a high-performance aircraft coating system to withstand harsh conditions in flight operations. Additionally, special livery coating uses glittering micas and a high-gloss finish.
Tagged categories: Automotive coatings; Coating chemistry; Coating Materials; Paint; Paint application; Program/Project Management
