Purple cars on the rise in Australia as Chinese brand launches new shade for special-edition EV

The rapid dual-motor Leapmotor C10 AWD Sports+ special edition is back, and it has a funky new shade in its exterior colour palette.

Now available to order, priced from $53,888 before on-road costs, the special-edition mid-size electric SUV is available in Dawn Purple paint with grey side decals. These join the returning Pearl White and Metallic Black finishes, with black or grey decals respectively.

Dawn Purple was previously exclusive to the smaller Leapmotor B10. Leapmotor has been rolling out more distinctive shades across its lineup, with the B05 hatchback debuting in a creamy pastel finish called Lightning Yellow and the C10 offering the dark, rich Jade Green which can even be paired with a tan interior.

After being offered in an exclusive 50-vehicle run earlier this year, the C10 AWD Sports+ is returning in November, as reported by CarExpert earlier this month, wearing the same price tag as before.

However, Leapmotor is now offering a deal in which customers who order a vehicle and take delivery before December 31, 2026 will receive a free 7kW AC wall charger valued at up to $800.

The C10 AWD Sports+ is the only member of Leapmotor’s mid-size SUV lineup in Australia to offer dual-motor all-wheel drive, pumping out 440kW of power and 720Nm of torque, and completing the 0-100km/h sprint in a claimed 4.0 seconds.

Like the single-motor rear-wheel drive C10 Design Long Range launched here mid-year, it features an 800V electrical system, allowing DC fast-charging at up to 180kW, and a larger 81.9kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery. However, range drops from 510km with the less powerful (220kW/360Nm) Design LR to 437km.

As before, the AWD Sports+ features unique exterior graphics and badging, plus unique floor and cargo mats.

This joins a list of standard equipment that includes:

• 20-inch alloy wheels
• Panoramic fixed glass roof with power sunshade
• 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster
• 14.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• 12-speaker sound system
• Surround-view camera with integrated dashcam recorder
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Heated steering wheel
• Wireless phone charger
• Colour-adjustable ambient lighting

While available industry sales data isn’t split out by colour, purple undoubtedly remains one of the rarer exterior paint colours on Australian roads.

However, the number of vehicles offering a purple colour has risen in recent years.

Cupra has made its Dark Void metallic purple available on the Tavascan, Terramar and the updated Leon and Formentor.

BMW debuted its Thundernight purple metallic paint on the current 2 Series coupe, and it’s now available on the 1 Series and 2 Series Gran Coupe, while Xpeng offers different purple finishes across its entire local lineup.

Chery has debuted its Lepas brand with the L6 EV mid-size SUV, which is available in the unusually named Crimson Purple hue, Volkswagen offers Vibrant Violet on its Polo, while Porsche offers Purple Sky Metallic on its Taycan – and also allows lovers of purple to take advantage of its Paint to Sample and Paint to Sample Plus programs.

Other examples include the Subaru WRX's Galaxy Purple and the Honda Super-One's Boost Violet.

While Leapmotor Australia has confirmed the return of the Sports+ Edition, it wouldn’t confirm when the updated C10 – revealed for Europe in September 2026 – will be introduced here.

For model year 2027 (MY27), the European-market C10 will move to the brand’s latest LEAP 3.5 Electronic & Electrical Architecture.

This means it’ll finally offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, both with wireless connectivity, plus ChatGPT integration for the voice assistant.

Other MY27 changes in Europe include revised LED headlights, a full-width front LED light bar, and the addition of three radar units to power new safety equipment such as active front cross-traffic assist. Electric C10s with the 69.9kWh battery also now boast slightly more power and range, with faster DC charging.

The reveal of the upgraded European-market model followed the debut of an updated Chinese-market model in June 2026 with various exterior revisions and a redesigned dashboard with a larger 17.3-inch infotainment touchscreen, among other changes.

MORE: Explore the Leapmotor C10 showroom