Can Audi’s New Matte Paint Option Improve Flat TT Sales?

Remember the fuss everyone made over the original Audi TT at its launch in 1998? That seems like a lifetime ago now. Last year Audi sold just 987 TTs in the whole of the U.S., whereas Ford shifted more than 54,000 Mustangs.

Maybe this’ll help: Audi has added a matte paint option to the little coupe and roadster models, and also the Q3 SUV, which is manufactured at the same plant in Hungary. In addition to the existing color options, TT buyers speccing their base car, TT S or TT RS will now be able to choose from three matte options called Daytona Grey, Florett Silver and Python Yellow.

The Q3 and its buff RS Q3 big brother, meanwhile, are also available in Daytona Gray and Florett Silver, but not Python Yellow, which Audi has swapped out for Dew Silver, a color exclusive to the SUV. So that’s basically three shades of grey, which is a little short of 50, and certainly less exciting. But it’ll suit most Audi buyers just fine, at least in the motherland, says the company. Audi claims that three out of every car sold in Germany is white, black or gray/silver.

Related: Audi Kills TT RS And RS 3 In Canada Due To Emissions Regulations

You might have heard that matte paints benefit from a little more owner care than regular paints, but that’s nothing on the care that goes into actually getting the paint onto the car in the first place. Audi claims it can taken anywhere from 3-5 years to design, select, yes and approve paint for a new car. And when it comes to applying the color itself, TTs and Q3s optioned with a matte treatment are painted in parallel with the standard cars at the Gyor plant’s 463,000 sq ft (43,000 sq m) paint shop in Hungary.

After the primer, filler, and color coats are applied, the cars are treated to a clear matte coat measuring 40-50 thousandths of a millimetre, the structure of that surface diffusing light rather than reflecting it directionally, giving the finished paint job that cool, satin look.