Dubai: Turning three tonnes of a driving luxury such as a Lexus LX 570 to something more extravagant or opulent may not seem an easy task, but gilder Jean-Christophe Rousseau plans to do just that and literally turn the SUV into gold.
The traditional craftsman and his team will be flying into Dubai from France with gold leafs in a suitcase to transform the vehicle live at the Dubai Motor Show which is starting on Wednesday.
About 40,000 gold leaves, each measuring 4x4 centimetres will be applied painstakingly by hand and the vehicle will be sold during the show. Rousseau said the owner will be able to drive the vehicle around. "It will not be a museum car," he said, speaking from Paris. The gold leaves will be applied with a special glue and a special varnish.
The gold leaves are 24 carat, pure gold, which will not oxidise even in the harsh weather here, according to the gilder.
Rousseau said presently there are only two cars in the world which are gilded with gold leaf. He would not disclose the owners' names, only saying that the gold Lexus would be the first in the region.
He said his work is not only for the super-rich. "It is expensive, but you can afford it," said the gilder who has done work for a private apartment in Dubai Marina, the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton, DIFC and the jaw-dropping décor at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
One of his projects included turning a 10 square metre wall in a private apartment into gold
The gilder had bought over a traditional company called Gold Emotion and further developed the concept. "Gilding a car is something exceptional," he said. The gilding will begin on December 14 and visitors to the Motor Show will be allowed to hold the gold leaves before they are affixed. "The leaves are so thin, about 1/10 of a micron, that you can see your fingerprints through it," he said.
Because the gold leaves are so thin, they weigh only 200 grammes. "It will fit in a small briefcase," he said, with a laugh.
Growing demand
Hugh Dickerson, general manager, sales and marketing, with Al Futtaim Motors, said there was a growing demand for custom-designed cars in the UAE. Dressing the group's flagship SUV with gold was befitting he said, as it is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Lexus brand.
The special edition gold Lexus will be put on sale once the transformation is done, he said.
The Lexus Gold Emotion event will take place in Hall 4, at stand 450 alongside the main Lexus exhibition stand. "The Dubai Motor Show is a fantastic platform on which to premier this new direction, and one that will be both entertaining and informative," says Dickerson.
Asked what next, Rousseau believes it is all up to the client. "Whatever he wants, I will have to find a solution for it," he says. "Who knows? Maybe a boat or a plane gilded in gold," he says.
The Dubai Motor Show has pulled in large numbers of affluent visitors from the Middle East over the past years. According to the organisers, it will showcase 200 new models including super cars, concept cars and Hybrids.
