White Gold Benz

[Jenn]

Comment: So, it seems that this "global recession" has not impacted negatively on everyone. Check this out! It's a Mercedes Benz owned by an Abu Dhabi oil billionaire (naturally). Featuring the newly developed V10 quad turbo with 1,600 horsepower and 2800nm of torque? 0-100km/h in less than 2secs, 1/4 mile in 6.89 secs running on biofuel.

That is NOT stainless steel people. It's WHITE GOLD!!

[Jenn]

I expect it's simply another special polishing technique.

[Ryda Wong, EBfCo.]

Wouldn't gold be a very silly thing to put on the exterior of a car? It's a really soft metal, right?

[Lainie]

Originally Posted by Ryda Wong, EBfCo.

Wouldn't gold be a very silly thing to put on the exterior of a car? It's a really soft metal, right?

Especially at the thickness of the body panels of a car.

[Jenn]

Originally Posted by Ryda Wong, EBfCo.

Wouldn't gold be a very silly thing to put on the exterior of a car? It's a really soft metal, right?

Soft and heavy.

[Singing in the Drizzle]

Originally Posted by Jenn

I expect it's simply another special polishing technique.

I agree, color is wrong for white gold or even silver. They are white metals and the color of the metal even when polished should have a white tinge to it even if very fante. The light is not the greatest in the picture, but I do not see that white in the color of the metal.

[Richard W]

It seems to be chromed, although nothing to say where that information came from:

http://www.autofiends.com/2008/10/ch...-tropy-topper/

http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/...d_in_dubai.php

(If a Bugatti Veyron picture turns up that's done like that, then it's one of these, polished aluminium and carbon fibre.)

[Tootsie Plunkette]

I found another site where someone claimed that "foiled" cars were currently popular in the Emirates. It's done by a German company, basically they shrink-wrap the car in a thin colored plastic sheet (metallic available). Check out the Ferrari in the fourth row of their gallery. So perhaps that's what's been done here.

[vanilla]

THe OP car is pretty to look at and I'm sure it is fun to drive, but it'd be a NFBSK to follow with the sun behind you!

vanilla(Ack, my eyes! The glare! The Glare! )pink

[Horse Chestnut]

Normally I'm turned off by that kind of flagrant, excessive spending, but I have to admit that is a very, very pretty car. I seem to remember they had a fleet of PUs like that featured in the '96 Olympics Opening Ceremony, or was that a different technique?

Horse "Ooooh! Shiny!" Chestnut

[Casey]

Auric Goldfinger would be pleased. His motorcar of choice was a 1934 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, with the body panels replaced with 18KT white gold.

I question the performance and horsepower numbers, it seems like they are for a different car. No reputable website I have seen confirms the stats quoted for this car, most just reiterate what's in the OP. Other than drag racing cars and this one: http://benzs.blogspot.com/2009/02/ma...mph-in-21.html, I don't know of any production or tuner 1600 hp cars. According to a similar article, this is the only street legal 1600 hp car. It incidentally goes 0-60 in 2.1 seconds, not under two. If this SLR was in white gold, it would definitely be heavier than the Maxximus G-Force and not likely to be faster.
I'm thinking it's more like a 750ish hp Mclaren SLR with a polishing job.

[Roadsterboy]

Originally Posted by rswarrior

I'm thinking it's more like a 750ish hp Mclaren SLR with a polishing job.

I tend to agree with this assessment, except for the fact that the SLR's body is made of carbon fibre*, which doesn't polish up to a mirror finish. I would go with the wrap thing posted earlier. I have heard of people using gold foil on auto body panels, but that's for details, not entire body panels.


-RB

*Feel free to correct me on this, but all sources I've found say that the exterior panels are carbon. Again, it's not outside the realm of possibility that someone's made new aloominum panels, but I'd doubt it.

[snopes]

More photos:

[jumbofrank]

I read somewhere, I thought it was here, that the car body is made of aluminum and they polished it.

[Der Induktionator]

Oh man, this got me thinking about a Joe Satriani Chromeboy (Not seriously, I have enough guitars for a little while)