Car paint could become a thing of the past, after BMW unveiled a new model in weather and scratch-proof aluminium.

       The iVision Circular concept car debuted at the Munich Mobility Show on Monday, and as well as the anodised metal exterior, it boasts being made of 100 per cent recyclable material, while the vehicle itself is 100 per cent recyclable.

       Car paint is expensive, the pigments can be hard to source and it’s not very environmentally friendly.

       While the base coats on new cars are now water-based, the top coat lacquer is still solvent-based.

       The paint shop is by far the most expensive facility in any car plant and long drying times mean it represents a bottleneck.

       Paint is also a nuisance for car owners, as it is the part of the vehicle most prone to scratches, chips and the attentions of children’s bicycles and passing pigeons.

       And - as any careless parker will tell you - it’s hugely expensive to fix.

       Back in the 30s, Mercedes-Benz didn’t paint its Silver Arrows racing cars to reduce weight, but the polished aluminium was a very high maintenance finish, while DeLoreans had bare stainless-steel bodies, but they showed finger marks.

       In 1999 Fiat acknowledged the drawbacks of paint with its Ecobasic concept car, which had self-coloured plastic panels and no paint, but the idea never caught on.

       In more recent years, cars have appeared in “satin” finish paints.

       These seemed to be an attempt to wean the public off the idea of a shiny new car, but when the paint was low quality, it turned out to be more high maintenance than conventional glossy finishes.

       BMW seems to hope its anodised finish could be the answer.

       Anodising is a way of electrically increasing the natural oxidation layer on materials such as aluminium.

       It’s already widely used in the motor industry as a way of protecting under bonnet components and providing a base layer onto which paint is sprayed.