By: IOL Motoring Staff
Rolle, Switzerland - Washing a car is either a chore - or expensive, depending whether you do it yourself or take the car through a carwash.
But one day soon, you many never have to wash your car again; Nissan has started real-world tests of a new paint technology that repels mud, rain and everyday dirt.
No, seriously; the special paint, which repels water and oils, has been sprayed on to brand-new Note, to create what Nissan says is the world's first self-cleaning car.
SUPER-HYDROPHOBIC PAINT
Engineers at the Nissan Technical Centre Europe will be testing the self-cleaning Note over the coming months in a variety of conditions, to assess the real-world effectiveness of the super-hydrophobic paint as a possible aftermarket application.
Nissan is the first carmaker to apply the special paint, called Ultra-Ever Dry, on automotive bodywork. By creating a protective layer of air between the paint and environment, it effectively stops standing water and road spray from creating dirty marks on the car's surface.
WASH AND BLOW DRY
This is not the first time 'self-cleaning' technology has been used on the Note; the car already has a 'wash and blow dry' function on its rear-view camera, using water and compressed air to automatically keep the lens free of dirt and ensure the car's safety sensors work in all weather conditions.
So far the coating, from UltraTech International, has stood up well to typical road hazards such as rain, spray, frost, sleet and standing water. Nissan says it has no plans at this stage to apply the special paint as a standard finish, but will continue to consider it as a future aftermarket option.