Russia's Elite Go Airbrush Mad

The latest craze for Russia's super rich is airbrushing their luxury cars to stand out from the crowd. But who is Moscow's airbrush master?

Moscow aerographic artist Ilnur Mansurov

(Courtesy Photo)

Meet Ilnur Mansurov! From his workshop, Mansurov is working on the trunk of a Lexus - designing a baby crocodile emerging from its shell.

"For [the Russians] their cars are their hobby, their joy, their free time. Maybe part of it is that people remember how it used to be, life was difficult, dull back then. Now, if they've got the opportunity, they try to live life to the fullest." -- Mansurov

"Of course it's art. It's work -- when you spend a lot of time on something, you use your experience, your talent. It's just that's it's technical -- it's a more technical process when you are working on cars," Mansurov says. "I'm happy that so many people see my work, that the cars themselves drive around town like an exhibition, and people are always seeing my work."

The average price to paint the hood is $1500 and the clients typically pay $15000 to paint the customers favorite movie scene over the whole car. Rich Russians are happy the pay the price while the average wage remains at about $5000 per year.


"There are lot of people who have earned money quickly. They don't have the sort of conservatism that they have in, say, Great Britain," Mansurov says. "I doubt very much they would paint anything onto a Rolls Royce -- even Big Ben! But here, they're ready to do that. For them their cars are their hobby, their joy, their free time. Maybe part of it is that people remember how it used to be, life was difficult, dull back then. Now, if they've got the opportunity, they try to live life to the full."