BASF Refinish Coatings teams up with renowned designer to give a compact SUV a makeover
• First R-M® THE CODE project in Asia lands in China
• Celebrating R-M’s 100th anniversary worldwide
• New color inspired by history and future mobility
Foshan, China – August 20, 2019 – Michael Young, a world renowned industrial designer, has revitalized the Acura CDX compact SUV with a dazzling identity using BASF’s premium refinish paint brand R-M®. Launched in Asia for the first time, the R-M THE CODE project today unveiled the new Acura CDX at BASF-TGPM Automotive Refinish Competence Center (RCC) in Foshan, Guangdong Province.
In 2018, R-M invited a variety of international, prestigious designers from Europe to initiate the R-M THE CODE project, to showcase their visions for the future of mobility. A total of 10 designers from 10 countries worked on various forms of transportation over a one-year period on individual projects, including an Aston Martin, a driverless battery electric bus, an electric scooter and a boat. R-M supports the designers with its color database and refinishing competence as well as its experts from its color laboratories. THE CODE stands for a special color code for each designer and each project. R-M THE CODE has been launched in Asia with the visionary, award-winning designer Michael Young in China.
The Acura’s new appeal comes from the newly designed color, “New English White” which is created by Michael Young for the car sharing concept, especially for urban consumers in China. “This is my first time I have ever designed a color for a car. The inspiration stems from a historic color called Old English White, which has been used a lot on classic sports cars,” said Michael Young, from Britain, who has based his studio in Hong Kong since 2006. “When I discovered the qualities of the R-M paints, I decided to modernize the color and created ‘New English White’, a fairly neutral and generalized color easily related to everyone. It has a sense of history while bringing the 21st century into a new decade.”
“R-M THE CODE helps showcase the future of mobility in colors and design. We underpin R-M’s position as a leading innovative premium brand in the Asian refinish market, which provides our customers with creativity and flexibility in the next generation of colors and design,” said Chris Titmarsh, Vice President, Automotive Refinish Coatings, Asia Pacific, BASF. “With R-M paint, we are motivating designers and engineers to create the concepts of the future through experimental design and challenging R-M’s full potential in innovation. Michael Young’s expertise and skills clearly showcased this and as a result, a new color was born, giving the Acura CDX SUV a new identity.”
This year, R-M brand is celebrating its 100 years in business globally. Since its establishment in Detroit, R-M has played a key role in shaping the development of the automotive industry. The founders, Fred Rinshed and Herbert Mason, injected their innovative and pioneering spirit into it. Today, R-M still remains true to this dynamic driving force all over the world.
During this centenary year, the R-M brand celebrates with customers its greatest success stories and shares these online throughout the world. Various events have been held in Japan and China earlier this year, including customer conferences, workshops and the ongoing domestic R-M Best Painter Contest. Today’s launch of R-M THE CODE is the highlight of the celebration, reaffirming R-M’s brand value, which stands for pioneering spirit, individuality and entrepreneurship.
R-M THE CODE is a joint project launched by R-M and TheArsenale, a premium online market place dedicated to the style of motion. To follow the projects, you can visit:
www.rmpaint.com
www.rmpaint.com/rmpaintOfficial
R-M Automotive Refinish: an important part of BASF Coatings
Under the R-M brand, BASF markets a comprehensive range of paint systems for vehicle refinishing. Special focus is given to ecologically efficient water-based paints and high-solid paints. By using these systems all legal solvent-reduction requirements can be complied with, anywhere in the world, and with regard to appearance and resistance, the products meet the same quality standards as solvent-borne paints. In this area, the company offers a wide variety of services to support its customers. R-M Automotive Refinish Paints is approved by most of the leading car manufacturers for aftermarket repair and chosen by the world’s most prestigious car companies for its color expertise.
