I'm not talking about any paint or wrap this time as the Carlsson CS50 Versailles is indeed adorned with more than 1,000 sheets of wafer-thin gold leaf. It takes 200 man hours and a squirrel-hair brush to achieve such class. And it's going to China, of course.
Based on the flagship Mercedes, the Versailles was "specifically developed for China's ultra-wealthy "'Taipan' clients; the new 'royalty' of the Middle Kingdom." And those ultra-wealthy Chinese must love the thing because Carlsson has sold ten of the planned 25 in advance.
The main tool for the job is a special squirrel brush that can absorb the (80 x 80 mm) gold leaves which are then placed on the surface in an irregular laying pattern. As Carlsson puts it:
This is merely the start of an elaborate process taking more than 14 days, during which the bespoke clear-coat undergoes its labour intensive application, drying and sealing to ensure a unique and perfect finish whose practicality and durability is comparable to that of conventional paint.
Durability? Right...
A further 278 interior and 30 exterior components get the same treatment and Carlsson claims that the gold used for the interior alone costs around 12,000 Euros ($16,458). No problem though since getting a CS50 Versailles will set you back by 280,000 Euros ($384,036).
That's a base price of course since we're talking about a German tuner, customers can go as bespoke with the car as their wallet allows. More gold should not be a problem either.