Making its world premiere at Auto Shanghai 2017, the Chevrolet FNR-X is the first all purpose concept to be released by the SAIC General Motors Joint Venture.
Designed by SAIC General Motors experts at the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC), the Chevrolet FNR-X concept combines the science and imagination of the Chevrolet brand while building on previous models’ high-performance and versatility. To showcase the off-road capability and performance of the FNR-X, PATAC designers and PPG colour experts developed the “rhenium silver” colour that gives the car a futuristic, outer-space look.
PPG’s silver coating is designed to complement Chevrolet’s trademark golden bowtie emblem and mimics the look of high-gloss liquid metal, with a neutral colour and silky pearl essence displaying metallic shades that differ based on viewing perspective and light. The rhenium silver color originates from PPG’s “Biocentric” colour-story trend palette, a theme of PPG’s “Kulture” collection for 2020 automotive models. The palette’s unrestrained imagination and creative designs are aimed as a direct pairing to the FNR-X’s cutting-edge technologies.
“SAIC General Motors is one of PPG automotive coatings’ most important OEM customers,” said David Cui, PPG Product Manager and Market Development Director, Automotive Coatings, Asia Pacific. “We are pleased to team with them to develop exciting new colors. Collaboration helps us better understand our clients’ needs while broadening our knowledge of colour styling and enhancing our research and development capabilities and service quality.”
Development of the rhenium silver colour is based on PPG’s “sterling silver” colour platform and the company’s leading automotive refinish technology. After more than 10 years of development by PPG’s Chinese technical research team for automotive OEM coatings, the sterling silver platform, which is manufactured through an eco-friendly process that minimizes harmful emissions, partially replaces electroplating with coatings that present superior metallic effects and flake orientation.
