Me, too. And I've seen it look black, charcoal grey, and navy. My last MCS (05) was all Jet Black and I loved that MINI and that color. I went with all Astro Black for it's replacement and the color keeps growing on me! I again have Dark Silver/Pure Silver edge stripes, and they look stunning with the black, grey or blue body, depending on light. You must go see it in person. Sort of like the Grand Canyon... you have to see it at different times of the day, too. Of course, any color of "black" on a MINI is really classy, but you gotta keep em clean!

PS I'm looking down from my office to the parking garage roof where my AB MINI is parked next to a black PT Cruiser. The PT Cruiser looks black and my MINI looks decidedly navy blue!

 

So, you got the stripes on, eh, John? Can't wait to see T-2--the combination sounds great for Astro Black. It IS a very distinctive color...and the reference to the Grand Canyon colors is perfect. You really DO have to see Astro Black in varying light levels.

 

Gary put em on and did a beautiful job! Next is WWT-IX where I hope to make him dazzle!

 

JC can you post a few photos of your stripes? I am very curious.

Thanks,

JB

 

I'll be happy to this evening.

 

Side by side with Laser Blue I couldn't tell the difference.

 

It looks AWESOME, especially with red colorline i.e. Hammer and Coop. Someone please buy mine!(see ultra loaded JCW in minis for sale)

 

Almost ordered it sight unseen, quite glad I didn't. It is a gorgeous and very unique color. But in direct sunlight (my only experience with it) I'd definitely call it a dark shade of blue over black. And a black car is what I wanted, so I just ended up going for its opposite.

 

It all depends on the lighting!! Mine is really black sometimes, but others it's not even close to black. Like take this picture for example!

 

Does that look black to you? But I absolutely LOVE the way it has it's mood changes!

 

Nice blue MINI !!

 

OK here are a few from this evening...haven't had a chance to wash him yet! I have also included one of my late 05 Jet Black MCS with same color stripes for comparison. Stripes are from Cooper Flags.

 

Thanks JC - Looking good!

 

I had one pass right in front of me walking down the street the other day. I really thought it was the old purple color until I noticed that it was a R56. Not that it's a bad color, but I would say that it's more than black.

 

Looking great, John. See ya Sunday!

 

Does AB scratch easily? Stone chips a problem? I'm considering Pepper White as my other color (night and day, eh?) but I keep coming back to AB! I would think that the metal flake helps "hide" the dust a little too.

Also, in general, are Mini's paint jobs pretty durable? Any help from current AB owners would be great....I want to order my car this coming week!

In keeping with this thread, AB looks predominantly black IMO. When the sunlight hits it, though, you can see the bit of blue in it...but only where the sun is hitting it. The color shift is interesting/beautiful.

Going to my dealer now...they have an AB/W on the lot, and I want to see how it looks after our recent rain storms. Going to bring a microfiber cloth with a small bottle of Griot's detailing spray to see how a small section cleans up. It's Sunday @ 7am, so dodging MA's wont be a problem!

Thank you kindly.....

 

Here's two threads that show you many angles of Astro Black in different conditions:

From very dirty (california dust+rain storm) to clean:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=132670

From quite clean, through claying, polishing waxing and bling bling:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=135231

 

Neither of those links work properly.

 

I tweaked the way they had been truncated and they're working okay from here - try again.

 

 

I bought a astro black hood scoop cuz mine got busted. its blue! at least when compared to my jetblack

 

You wanna see blue? Here ya go...



Actually, I don't like it as much when it appears this blue...

 

Actually, Play, that looks great! You must have hit it at some freak angle when you snapped that photo....I've never seen it that blue. Must have been sun spots or a solar flare that day.

I am not a blue-car fan (my wife always buys blue cars, and I always have to look at blue whenever washing/waxing), but AB has the subtleness that shows a little of that deep, deep blue only here and there. Your car looks awesome. Thank you for sharing the photo!

My AB/W Cooper is due to set sail from Southampton tomorrow. Looks like it should be here before hurricane season starts, which is a good thing.

 

Thanks very much Dhoosee! Makes me feel better Yeah, that was also the bluest I've ever seen AB.

 

BMW likes adding blue to their blacks...Check our the Carbon Black M3 Color, and the Cosmo Metallic M3...both have some blue...the Carbon Black is more prominent though. It looked like carbon copy paper.