‘It was definitely red, officer’

Normally, tiny metal particles create the metallic look which can cause an apparent minor colour variation according to the angle at which light strikes the painted surface.  It was the disposition of the metallic particles that often necessitated respraying more than just a single damaged panel so as to maintain colour conformity but I’m advised that the latest metallic paints are somewhat eaier to deal with these days.
By contrast, some paints have been applied to cars, at great expense, so as to create a deliberate colour difference  according to the source and angle of light and according to the relative position of the panel one is viewing.
 I’ve seen this paint on a number of UK-registered TVRs lurking around the villages in the vicinity of Le Mans.  While green may be the predominant colour, some parts of the car are reddish/yellow, some mauvish and some violet. 
As you move around the vehicle, the green turns to mauve and the mauve to red and so on.  
From what I can glean, these paints are applied in a three coat process which creates a prism effect, hence reference to the colours of the rainbow.
The particles that make up these finishes create the effect of colour shift by reflecting different wavelengths of light when viewed at different angles. 
So it’s quite possible for a witness on one side of a road to see something completely differently from a witness on the other side of the same road.
Things are set to get worse in this respect as I read the other day that the next generation of VW Passat is likely to feature a paint colour palette that can be varied according to the flow of electric current.  Having been intrigued by the technology and done some research on the subject, I discovered that Nissan were on this multi-hued trail two years ago.
It works like this.  The paint coating, the default colour of which is white, consists of a “paramagnetic” polymer layer featuring iron oxide particles that are applied to the vehicle’s body. 
When an electric current is applied to the polymer, the disposition of the crystals in the top layer changes, thus creating different reflective values which the eye interprets in the form of differing colours.
It stands to reason that a constant current is needed to maintain a constant colour and while the choice is great, when the engine switches off, the paramagnetic layer goes to sleep and reverts to white.  Would I be right in thinking that all vehicles in the ZESA fleet would be permanently white? The colour story doesn’t stop there though, if you live in the States that is.
There, a product called Trippin Paint claims to be the first in the world which changes colour according to temperature.  The paint can be applied to a host of surfaces from fabric to plastic to metal  and it doesn’t just change colour according to the angle of viewing. The manufacturers claim to provide a product which can be engineered to “produce” any number of colours in the temperature range spanning zero to 160F.  Amazingly, the company even offers a paint which goes from a coloured state to clear which allows for graphics, which were originally hidden behind the “solid” colours, to appear as if by magic. The advertising opportunities offered by this technology are obviously endless.
Diesel bike
Continuing along the unusual theme, I discovered recently that the Dutch make a diesel motor cycle called an Eva.  A gentleman by the name of Erik Vegt is the brains behind the “adventure” bike which is fitted with a common rail diesel motor that displaces 800cc spread across three cylinders.
It’s reported that the engine is built by none other than Mercedes-Benz.  With the aid of a Constantly Variable Transmission (CVT), the Eva sips a claimed 3,3litres/100kms of conventional diesel fuel or bio-diesel.  Max power is a relatively meagre 45 bhp but the torque output of 100Nm is sufficient to blitz the 0-100 km/h sprint in just 3,75 seconds.
Weight is a relatively porky 225 kgs, some 25 kgs over the class avarage doubtless because of the heavier construction needed to keep the diesel motor, with its 18:1 compression ratio, in one piece
Nurburgring 24 Hours
This weekend sees the running of a race I’m desperately keen to attend one day — the Nurburgring 24 Hours.  The field is made up of a mix of road-based GT racing machines, sports cars and vehicles as mundane as a Toyota Yaris. No fewer than 194 cars will face the starter’s flag this Saturday and parade their wares of spitting exhausts and howling engines in front of hundreds of thousands of fans who turn this event into the biggest outdoor party in the world.
As you might expect, this gruelling car-breaker of a race is very much Porsche territory with the marque having achieved a 1-2-3 last year on a circuit built, incidentally, on the orders of one A. Hitler who wanted to find employment for thousands of Germans suffering from the economic recession between the two World Wars.
The Porsche marque also happens to be represented by two Germans driving a relatively elderly 911 GT3  (No. 51) entered under the banner of Bonk Motorsport.  Serious!  One hopes that the intrepid duo concentrate on the task at hand and do not indulge in any off-track excursions which encompass the numerous camp sites dotting the Eiffel countryside!
GM woes continue
Who could ever have forecast the misfortune that has befallen General Motors.
Some cynics reckon the company has been looking for trouble as its product range has failed to keep pace with the times – in other words, too many traditional Yank Tanks have formed the bulk of their line-up — but the extent of the catastrophe goes beyond the design of its US-built cars.
This week, the General has announced the closure of a further 1100 dealerships with the loss of 137 300 jobs over the next year.  This comes hot on the heels of the Chrysler decision to close 789 dealerships.
In the meantime, the forecast merger of Porsche and VW has not gone ahead as predicted. 
If you ever wanted evidence of the presence of inter-family rivalry, you’ll find it here.  It seems VW wants Porsche to sort out its finances first.
Ironically, as reported in Top Gear recently, the problem Porsche faces is one of repaying the loans it took out to buy a controlling interest in VW whose chairman, Ferdinand Piech, is married into the Porsche family and is also a shareholder in the Stuttgart manufacturer.
Piech is believed not to see eye to eye with much-lauded and successful Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and is one of the prime movers behind a plan to put current VW CEO Martin Winterkorn into the hot seat of the merged company when it does happen. 
Piech has backing from other very senior figures in the huge VW empire and while Porsche mulls over how to pay off its procurement debts, VW holds the upper hand and there’s every probability that Europe’s best-paid car exec, Herr Wiedeking himself, will be heading off into the sunset fairly soon, an unlikely victim of his own management decisions!  
Raining notes
A man in Germany recently discovered the dangers of driving an open car with a bagful of notes sitting on the seat. 
The envelope contained no less than 23 000 euros which had been brought along to purchase the Audi Cabrio he was test driving.
As he cruised along an autobahn near Hanover in a fast moving flow of cars, the wind blew the envelope off the back seat and scattered the precious notes all over the road and surrounding areas.
The Polizei were called and they sealed off the motorway while a search was conducted. 
All but 3 000 Euros were recovered and the police have warned motorists they will be arrested if anyone is found scavenging in the area. 
Needless to say, the initial search caused an almighty tailback and to add to his woes, the police have indicated they may charge the guilty party for the costs of the search.
 Buemi lucky
Toro Rosso F1 rookie, Sebastien Buemi, survived possible death by less than 10 centimetres during the first lap accident that blighted the recent Spanish GP. 
An accident triggered by Jarno Trulli’s off-track excursion saw both Toro Rossos in big trouble with Buemi’s team mate, Bourdais, carrying out an unintentional aerial ma-nouevre which took him right over Buemi’s car.
What we didn’t see is that a wheel of Bourdais’ car actually touched Buemi’s shoulder and missed his head by about 10 centimetres. 
Lucky man.