Audi R8 buyers have a new way to personalize their supercars from the factory thanks to the smart minds within Audi’s paint department. A new paint etching technique will allow R8 and R8 Spyder customers to have images, letters, symbols or whatever else they desire engraved into the side of their car. It’s currently only available to buyers of Audi’s mid-engine supercar, but the automaker promises to eventually extend the offer to other models in its range.
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The etching process begins by laying a template of the desired shape against the component that is to be engraved. A sandblasting system then sprays a special powder onto the surfaced to roughen the outer clearcoat layer by a few thousandths of a millimeter and create a matted pattern in the lacquer.
Audi says it can etch almost any pattern into components sized up to a meter by a meter as long as it isn’t protected by third party rights (or isn’t obscene). Apologies to those of you who thought you could be cheeky and get a BMW or Mercedes-Benz logo engraved into the side of an Audi – your fun’s been ruined before it even began.
