New BMW X6 in the Blackest Black – to steal the new Mercedes GLE Coupe’s thunder

The new BMW X6 will be at the Frankfurt Motor Show resplendent in a ‘Vantablack’ paintwork, BMW announces on the day the Mercedes GLE Coupe is revealed.

The BMW X6 was always an unlikely sales success with its ungainly looks and huge size. But a sales success it was, and is.

That’s evidenced clearly by the arrival of a Mercedes rival to the X6 in 2014 in the guise of the GLE Coupe, and today Mercedes has revealed the new 2020 GLE Coupe. Coincidentally, we’re sure, BMW has chosen today to tell us about the new BMW X6 heading for the Frankfurt Motor Show.

BMW revealed the new X6 back in July, complete with illuminated grille, but it’s keen you know that the X6 heading for the Frankfurt Motor Show is a one-off – the BMW X6 Vantablack – although if the lights are low you may not be able to see it. Is that a plus, you may ask?

The ‘Vantablack’ bit refers to the paint job on the X6, created in collaboration with Surrey NanoSystems, and is a paint that seems the most unlikely choice for a car, even a less than handsome car, as it absorbs virtually all light hitting it and makes the painted object look two-dimensional.

BMW’s Creative Designer Director, Hussein Al Attar, said:

Internally, we often refer to the BMW X6 as “The Beast.” I think that says it all. The Vantablack VBx2 finish emphasises this aspect and makes the BMW X6 look particularly menacing. Moreover, the BMW X6 has always been the most provocative and in-your-face model in our portfolio. So why not emphasise this even further, with a finish that simply captivates the viewer’s attention? After all, that’s what the BMW X6 has always been about.

Judge for yourself at Frankfurt next month.