Soul Red Premium Metallic:
Ultimate Color for Mazda's Passion (Part 2)
To move the ultimate red, the perfect expression of Mazda's passion, from the concept stage to reality, the development staff needed to attempt various innovations.
For example, it would be possible in theory to create an intense red that combines a seducing depth and translucence by coating a clear layer of red paint directly on polished metal. In reality, however, direct coating is unpractical, since the body surface of a mass production car must be covered with an anti-corrosive and an intermediate coat (necessary for ensuring secure coating of the paint). In the case of soul red, after trial and error, the development team came up with the idea of using a layer of silver paint, which is relatively similar compound-wise to metal, as a base coating on the metal surface.
“In the mass production stage, we must maintain the quality level by re-creating the intensity and depth of the color of the concept stage with limited materials as we take into consideration production processes,” the color designer says. “We arrived at the soul red premium metallic color after screening hundreds of samples created by fine-tuning a variety and mix of paints.”
Mazda's ultimate red is not something that was born out of a casual idea. It is a crystallization of ideas and inspirations from successive generations of designers and engineers and as such deserves to be loved for many years to come, the designer Takashi Okamura (pictured) says.
When you see red Mazdas – the CX-5, Mazda6, Mazda3 or Mazda2 – racing along the street, it is our passion that you see radiating from the cars.
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