Dark arts of driving

Delving into the wild and wonderful, ever-expanding world of automotive Black Editions

Mankind has always had an association with blackness.

From pre-birth to the end of days, the all-encompassing nothingness represented by black constantly resides in our consciousness. In the absence of everything, only black remains.

So what is it that makes car-makers around the world so fascinated with black? Not so much as a colour – even if black isn’t strictly a colour anyway – but more as a label for a specific model variant.

What we are referring to are the “Black” editions concocted by car-makers wanting to give a conceptual edge to (usually) top-of-the-line sports models. Just about everybody seems to want to get in on the act. A list could easily be reeled off of the proliferating “Black” editions – or similar - on offer around the world.

In fact we will reel off a (far-from-complete) list, which embraces not just importers, but local car-makers as well.

Probably among the most ironic examples are the simultaneous presentations of “Black” editions at the 2011 Australian International Motor Show in Melbourne by Ford (an all-black GT-based FPV concept) and Holden (an 'SV Black Edition' Based on the ClubSport R8). This is against a backdrop of a multitudinous list of black editions, many of which are/were available in Australia, and many of which weren’t, ever. Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Nissan, Aston Martin and Audi are just some of the other car-makers in the Black Edition business.

Like we said, the list, of car-makers and model variants, is far from complete and is not inclusive of similar concepts such as the current Benz SL 350 Night Edition and the not-for-Australia 460kW Typhoon Black Pearl BMW X5 created last year by the German tuning specialist G-Power.

The reasons for this fixation with black aren’t immediately clear. Maybe there is a profundity in the wish to confer a “Black” title on a specific car – invariably the created image is dangerous and sinister – reflecting the bete noire in just about all of us.

An inspiration accepted for Black Edition cars by many is the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance aircraft from the 1960s that, with its matte-black paint, flying cockroach shape and enormous speed capabilities (it was able to out-run surface to air missiles), redefined the word sinister.

Then again, Black editions could be an automotive variant of the ploys used in other retail endeavours simply to define a premium product.

Black Label Johnnie Walker whiskey is a familiar example, while there are other associations with black (black-tie dress requirements are another example) that convey a suggestion of something special, and separate from the run of the mill. Other (unlikely) connotations could be found in British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s infamous “Black Dog” that haunted him in times of depression.

Funnily, in the car industry, Black editions are not always black. For example Holden’s SV Black Edition models, in sedan, ute and wagon form, can be had - in addition to “Phantom” black - in “Sting Red”, “Heron White”, “Alto Grey” and “Nitrate Silver”. Similar deviations apply in many Black Series Mercedes-Benz models.

The fact that - so far as we are aware - only the producers of thunderously powerful cars have taken the Black route, indicates there is a perceived status to the appellation. It would be anathema to create a Black Edition four-cylinder front-drive family hatchback, but who knows the minds of product planners wishing to convey something about a future limited-build drive away, no more to pay offering.

Perhaps sales managers at new-car dealerships have trod that path already. Rumour from a decade ago has it that a Melbourne Daewoo dealer fitted a glut of black Lanos hatches with alloys and decals to create just such a weapon. And by the way, 'glut' is the right collective noun for the Daewoo Lanos.

Other than that, Black editions have been very much top-end performance variants of an already high-flying model.

Witness the pumped–up AMG Black editions of Mercedes-Benz C-Class coupe, SLK, SL and CLK models. Already claimed to be quicker than the BMW M3, the AMG C-Class coupe is likely to be upstaged by a future C 63 Black version, while the 5.5-litre V8 SLK 55 AMG Black Series was the very first car to be produced by AMG’s Performance Studio in 2006.

The AMG SL 65 Black Series was introduced in 2008 and was a monster of a car with a twin-turbo V12 engine and a lightening programme that ditched the folding metal roof and replaced it with a featherweight carbon fibre structure to drop the weight by around 250kg over the standard AMG SL 65.

The CLK 63 AMG Black Series pumped-up the regular CLK 63’s 6.2-litre V8 to produce 373kW and cut the zero to 100km/h time to a whisker over four seconds.

As for Porsche, its 911 Black Edition tends towards the cosmetic with black paint, 19-inch Turbo wheels and a more dressed-up interior, also resplendent in black. However the Black Edition Boxster and Cayman models gain extra power, jumping from 236kW to 243kW, while picking up 19-inch wheels, bi-Xenon lights and numerous internal upgrades.

In BMW land, the Frozen Black Edition M3 Coupe (pictured) is a very limited-build variant with only 12 allocated for Australia later in the year at an as-yet unspecified price. The paint is a special matt black and, although the 4.0-litre V8 is unchanged, numerous fiddles with the electronically damped suspension via BMW’s Competition Package drop ride height by 10mm.

At Nissan, the celebration of the Z coupe’s 40th anniversary in 2010 came in the way of a limited edition, largely cosmetic Black Edition version available in two blacks – Black and Quartz – and featuring 19-inch wheels, red brake callipers and a 40th anniversary interior replete with logos, red leather/suede upholstery and top-shelf audio/navigation system. The special 370Z didn’t make it to Australia.

Another Black Edition Nissan was the GT-R version introduced in markets other than Australia in 2009, out no less than 433kW/700Nm to out-power the likes of Lamborghini Gallardo and Porsche 911 GT2.

Aston Martin’s approach to the theme came in the form of Carbon Black editions of the V12 Vantage and DBS models, with special black metallic paint and buffed-up interiors including killer sound systems. Drivetrains, Porsche 911 style, remained unaltered.

Audi’s R8 super coupe is mot immune to the Black treatment either, with the Hyper Black Edition developed by tuning specialist Anderson Germany squeezing 433kW out of the 5.2-litre V10 engine.

The lowlier A3, undermining the hi-po argument, also comes in a Black edition, but the changes are restricted to the visuals. Upgraded wheels, Xenon lights and black paint largely sum it up.

Doubtless there are other Black Editions out there on the world stage, but you get the picture. Black has a deep and significant meaning in the car industry, whether checking the ledgers or deciding how best to structure your model lineup.

So black is back - although some, recalling the days of Henry Ford’s model T, which was apocryphally available in any colour as long as it was black, would say it never went away.

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