BMW covered this X6 in a sprayable version of Vantablack, the darkest material on the planet, and turned it into a rolling black hole.
What is Vantablack? No, it’s not the supervillain alter ego of the lady who reveals the letters on “The Wheel of Fortune.” It’s the darkest manmade material in the world and it’s all over this BMW X6.
If you want to get technical, the Bimmer is actually covered in a somewhat lighter, sprayable version of Vantablack called VBX2. According to DriveTribe‘s Mike Fernie, full-strength Vantablack’s carbon nanotubes block photons and “absorb 99.965 percent of light.” It’s so dark that the human eye has a hard time discerning shapes covered in the material and it effectively turns a three-dimensional object into something with only two dimensions.
VBX2 is not that far behind, soaking up 99 percent of the light that hits it. It only draws more attention to the X6‘s illuminated twin-kidney grille.
There’s another benefit to the coupe-like crossover’s new paint job, at least if you believe Fernie’s theory. He said, “I reckon they’ve [BMW’ve] covered it in Vantablack because it’s not exactly known as the best-looking car they produce, so cover it in this material and it basically disappears.”
Fernie goes to the other end of the visibility spectrum and takes an up-close look at the BMW X5 Protection VR6, complete with flashing blue lights. As its name implies, it was designed to be a four-wheeled bodyguard for high-profile passengers that others may want to kidnap…or worse. That VR6 suffix denotes the amount of protection this nearly four-ton armored X5 can provide on a scale of VR1 to VR10. This VR6-rated X5 can withstand “Kalashnikov rifles and hand grenades,” according to Fernie.
The five-layer windows are 30-millimeters thick and held in place, even after an explosion, with steel brackets on both sides. Clients can even spec the X5 Protection VR6 with a reinforced roof…in case one of their enemies uses a drone to drop a grenade on them from above.
Yep, you read that right. Drone-deployed grenades are a real thing and a legitimate concern for some people. If they’re so worried about being spotted, we know just the vehicle for them – and which color to get it in and what time to travel in it.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
