This is officially the coolest car colour of 2017 - carsales.com.au (2024)

The first time I saw it was on a shiny new Audi Q2. Not quite grey, not quite taupe, it was both subtly stylish and incredibly eye-catching.

Soon after, I started spotting it everywhere. A Porsche Cayenne in a pale cement shade. A Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo in pastel steel. A stunning Audi RS 3 in ‘Nardo’ grey which popped up in my Pinterest travels.

Devoid of the metallic sheen of old, but not quite matte, 2017’s hottest shade is a muted block grey which looks equally at home in a luxury furniture catalogue and on an SUV.

The colour gurus at Pantone have a name for it: ‘Drizzle’. And it’s been steadily growing in popularity since the start of the year.

My suspicions were confirmed via a recent press release from paint manufacturer Axalta: the automotive colour of 2017 was ‘Gallant Grey’.

“Cars with these finishes are quietly confident and totally in command,” Axalta proclaimed. “These colours are for drivers who know where they are going. And whom to bring along for the ride.”

Cheesy phrasing aside, Axalta nailed it. These sentiments are echoed by the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which revealed its top 10 most selected tones for new cars in February this year.

Of the top 10 most popular colours, grey witnessed the biggest increase in interest, with a 13 per cent boost on last year.

Mr Shaun Cleary, Audi Australia’s Product Communications Manager, says Audi’s renewed focus on grey is entirely intentional.

“It’s certainly been a popular colour, in particular with contrasting black elements,” he explained. Mr Cleary added that Audi’s specific shade – named ‘Quantum Grey’ – was introduced with the Q2 earlier this year.

Audi has used the shade in all of its extensive advertising for the Q2, so it’s no wonder 2017’s hot hue seems to be everywhere.

Audi’s reasoning for this colour choice is simple: the Q2 looks damn good in grey.
“In the case of the Q2, the flat grey shade accentuates the car’s creases and proportions really well, and with the contrasting black elements, looks quite striking,” Mr Cleary explained.

As for the ‘Nardo’ grey shade I keep seeing all over my Instagram and Pinterest pages…well, it’s actually been around since 2013. In fact, there are entire online fan pages and forums dedicated to it.

“We introduced [Nardo grey] first on some of our high-performance RS vehicles - which has proven very popular, now across a number of models,” Mr Cleary said.
Audi’s designers select colours based on extensive customer research in Europe and also studies into future trends.

Over at BMW, a similar variation of this shade – known as ‘Grigio Telesto’ – is offered as part of the manufacturer’s ‘Individual Special Paints’ program for a cool $7,800.

It’s one of nine shades of grey offered in the customisation program, but BMW’s standard suite also offers five shades of grey: ‘Mineral’, ‘Space’, ‘Sophisto’, ‘Singapore’ and ‘Arctic’.

Still, grey has a bit of legwork to do if it wants to catch up with black and white, BMW’s most popular shades.

“Black, white, grey and silver continue to hold their popularity with BMW in Australia,” says Ms Siobhan Kircher, Lifestyle and Internal Communications Specialist at BMW Group Australia.

“Alpine white was the most popular BMW colour in 2016, holding 29.5 per cent share. Black Sapphire followed closely with 20.3 per cent and Mineral Grey and Glacier Silver 9.6 per cent and 7.4 per cent respectively,.” Ms Kircher told motoring.com.au.

However possibly the best part about this trend is that, for once, we’re talking about a timeless colour. Bright orange or mustard yellow may come and go, but classic grey is forever.

Just ask Top Gear host Richard Hammond, whose beloved Porsche 911 GT3 RS came in Porsche’s ‘Sport Classic Grey’ – a paler version of the cement shade which is currently on-trend.

According to colour expert Dr Debra Livingstone, choosing grey, “suggests that the driver cares less about status but more the status quo, preferring a life that is on an even keel”.

“The driver is practical,” Dr Livingston explained. Although not as exciting as a dynamic red, “the driver of the grey colour vehicle is more likely to keep their car for longer”.

“However,” Dr Livingston conceded, “[this] new shiny grey for vehicles could be the new black.”

Maybe the car industry isn’t so black and white after all.

Want to get grey? Try one of these models…
>> Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo in ‘Steel Grey’
>>Audi Q2 in ‘Quantum Grey’
>>Volkswagen Caddy van in ‘Pure Grey’
>>Porsche 911 in ‘Sport Classic Grey’
>>Audi RS6 Avant Performance in ‘Nardo Grey’
>>Mini Cooper in ‘Moonwalk Grey’
>>BMW Gran Coupe in ‘Grigio Telesto’

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