One great thing about high performance cars is that their owners are usually discerning to the extent that they understand how to further improve them so they handle just a little better, get from A to B safely in just a little less time and maybe turn a few more heads in their direction as they do so. A case in point recently found its way to Hampshire-based Spectral Design and Print.
The car, a BMW M1, had just been released from the care of KW Suspensions having had a V3 fast road and track system fitted. KW Suspensions’ technicians suggested that the M1’s owner get in touch with Spectral and consider a few cosmetic touches to distinguish the car even further from the relative handful of other M1s it may cross.
It’s second time around for the BMW M1 model designation and the new car couldn’t be any more different from the first one to wear the badge. The latest M1 looks like a BMW compact and it is, but under the skin it has a BMW M power plant and the transmission and engineering to do it justice.
Spectral prescribed a restrained enhancement to the car’s design with the addition of a gloss black roof to match the car’s de-chromed components and gloss black trim. Lee Glen and the team at Spectral turned to Metamark M7 and to some well-honed application skills to produce a result that stands really close scrutiny and could be mistaken for paint.
The Metamark M7 was applied under continuous radiant heat to keep the film workable, localised heat was applied where and when needed to help it conform on tighter compound curves and water was used in order to manage the development of the bond during application. The heat helped the Metamark M7 to develop an even higher gloss and with nothing more than a buff, the result is a real head-turner.
Spectral is well known for its application expertise and the BMW M1 is yet another testimonial on wheels for the company. The job also demonstrates that while practically anything is possible in terms of cosmetic enhancement with digital print and technically developed media , sometimes the best results happen with the most subtle of treatments.