The Porsche 718 Is A Living Legacy

Do you know the story of the ‘Silver Arrow’ Mercedes, from the pre-WWII years. These cars are said to be the source of silver as Germany’s international racing colors? The bodies of the Silver Arrows had no paint, in order to save weight. The aluminum was simply buffed bright. Clear coating paint happens later, on commercial vehicles. My recollection is that it starts during the late 1980s. However, clear coating was often not used on performance and race cars, again with the objective of saving weight. A secondary objective in using a single stage paint was to provide a surface which is easy to maintain, and rematch, because track cars, and cars which may be used on the track often have fender to fender contact with other cars on the course, and need frequent repainting. The NA6 and early NA8 Mazda Miata/MX5, during the 1990s had single stage paint (no clear coat) for these reasons. Much was done to lightweight these early. The engine compartment lid (hood) is aluminum, there is almost no sound proofing, and, on the early models, the window actuators are manual. The objective was to make the car suitable for club racing or occasional track use in which fenders and doors would frequently be repainted. There is a current trend to use vinyl shrink graphics over primer, instead of paint, on competition-only cars. The objective, again, is said to be a weight savings.