2024 Mazda CX-90 Teased With Gorgeous New Artisan Red Premium Paint

Nov. 15, 2022 12:46 PM ET by Sebastian Cenizo Design / 4 Comments

Once again, Mazda has added unreal depth to automotive paint with its Takuminuri technology.

The 2024 Mazda CX-90 three-row crossover will make its global debut in January, and the teaser campaign is now officially underway with a single image of the crossover's front side. The accent in the fender has "Inline6" clearly written; we previously reported that the company's new turbocharged 3.3-liter straight-six engine will be making its way to the US, and the CX-90 is the ideal vehicle for this application.

The teaser also reveals a new addition to its premium paint range called Artisan Red Premium. Just like the Rhodium White Premium paint unveiled earlier this year, it uses the automaker's proprietary Takuminuri painting technology. This is the fourth color that uses the technology and has been revealed as a sort of celebration in the 10th year since the first such color, Soul Red Premium, was released. Soul Red is arguably one of the best mainstream automotive paint options out there and looks stunning on something as humble as a Miata, yet could easily pass for a premium Ferrari finish too. Artisan Red Premium seems to be just as special.

Mazda says that this new shade is more refined and sophisticated than previous special colors and that the idea behind its creation was to recreate the sort of red found in a well-made mature wine. In bright light, you'll see a fine-grained transparent red shining brightly, while "dominant shade produces a profound depth and richness, rendering high contrast." Basically, your eyes will perceive this color differently depending on what sort of light it's viewed in. Think back to the Ferrari 599 SA Aperta and the triple-layer paint you could order that with - the more of different types of paint there is, the more "liquid" the finish appears.

The process of creating this unique shade is not altogether new. Similarly to Soul Red Crystal, the new rouge shade is made up of three layers: a clear layer, a translucent paint layer, and a reflective/absorptive layer.

The translucent paint layer uses a high-chroma pigment used in Soul Red Crystal that is said to be perceived as "the reddest of reds," while the reflective/absorptive layer boasts a technology "that more smoothly aligns aluminum flakes at regular intervals." This is the same technology used on the Rhodium White Premium finish provided earlier, but now with an improved jet black pigment from Machine Gray, the second paint color made using the Takuminuri technology. This combination of various paint technologies over the last decade provides loads of brightness in the highlights, while the areas that absorb light add richness to the color, helping achieve a fine balance between transparency and depth.

2017-2021 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF Rearward Vision

Machine Gray and Soul Red MX-5s

Mazda is of the strong belief that "color is an element of form" and pledges to continue creating new permutations of automotive paint colors, as well as more advanced technologies to further enhance the appeal of its products. Mazda is looking to become a more premium brand in the coming years, and creating stunning paint finishes will surely help to improve the perception of quality and luxury. As for where we can look forward to seeing this new paint option in the metal, the automaker says that Artisan Red Premium will be offered as a premium option in its current lineups and in new releases in the brand's Large Product group. So, when the CX-90 arrives and you're ready to place an order, tick the box marked Artisan Red. If Mazda's prior premium colors are anything to go by, it'll only set you back $595.