What: 2019 Aston Martin Vantage Color: Q by Aston Martin Zaffre Blue Metallic(metallic UNI; AM6030; Aston Martin) VIN: SCFSMGAW5KGN01180 Mileage: 22,622 miles Price at Time of this Writing: $96,500 CarFax:Link Location: Federal Way, WA Auction listing:West State Motorsport
We’ll be the first to admit it- of all the Tailors featured in our regular rotation, Q by Aston Martin generally isn’t one of them- and that’s a shame. Aston is, after all, a legendary brand that makes a stunning car which also happens to depreciate like a rock. This particular example, finished in the absolutely stunning Zaffre Blue Metallic is just $96,500. Sure it’s 6 years old, sure it’s done 22,622 wonderful miles, but we’re talking M3 money here for something that’s sure to turn more heads than a BMW sedan ever could. With a clean CarFax and the much, much more reliable AMG V8 under hood, and an asking price that wouldn’t begin to touch a Paint to Sample 911 of similar vintage, this Aston is well worth a good hard look.
What: 2025 Lotus Emira Chapman Bespoke Launch Edition (1 of 60) Color: Isotope Green (isotopegreen; B132 / C132; Lotus) VIN: SCCLEJAX2SHA10499 Mileage: 800 miles Price at Time of this Writing: $78,500 CarFax: N/A MonroneyLabels.com Window Sticker: Link Location: Washington, UT Auction listing:Cars and Bids
It was just a couple of months ago that Lotus pulled the wraps off of their own in-house tailoring division Chapman Bespoke and one of the first results is this limited run of 60 “Chapman Bespoke Launch Edition” models. This one, painted Isotope Green, has just popped up on Doug DeMuro’s internet auction site Cars and Bids.
As a builder of premium sportscars, it makes sense that Lotus would both get into the lucrative tailoring business and also push for greater market penetration by building limited run series of cars. That’s pretty standard fare in the space, and it works well here for Hethel.
We like the way Lotus is using cue elements such as the triangular badge on the C-pillar of the car as a plaque to spell out just what the car is. The neon green level of Isotope Green is also quite different from standard colors of Emira we’ve seen so far, which will help you stand out from the Emira crowd should you join the ranks of ownership for one of the best new cars for driving purists that’s in production today.
What: 1991 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Color: Apricot Beige (apricotbeige; non-metallic uni; 548; Porsche) VIN: unknown Mileage: 135,534 miles Price: $150,000 CarFax: N/A Window Sticker: N/A Location: Private Party, New York, NY Dealer listing:Link
Spoiler alert: this car is a respray. It was originally Grand Prix White over tan, meaning both the interior and exterior have experienced a color change. That said, it appears that no expense was likely spared in making it happen, while whomever did the work appears to have faithfully recreated the Porsche without taking liberties so as to make it look as if it could have been a period Paint to Sample. That’s both pretty cool and pretty rare.
We also like that it’s tone on tone. After having spent some years street parked in Manhattan, this car went in for a color change where the owner wanted the “creamiest” 964 ever. The color is period correct Apricot Beige, offered on the Porsche 928 and 911 from 1989-1990. And since beige wasn’t exactly in fashion in that period, the install rate was practically nonexistent. For the owner then, that made it near perfect for his needs – OEM, obscure and period correct.
While they were at it, they also redid the interior in a tone-on-tone match, replacing the factory tan leather with a lighter creamy beige leather. Some Alcantara was also used, which isn’t exactly period correct on a Porsche 964 but you’d likely need to be a super nerd to know that.
At $150K, this car is more expensive than the equivalent 1991 911 Carrera 2, though probably not far off from what a rare and well kept equivalent in paint to sample finish and Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur special interior. If these colors work for you or you’re seeking a 964-era 911 that’s super unique and that you won’t have to feel guilty logging miles driving then it’s probably worth the investment.
If you’ve been seeking a vintage Jaguar Roadster, this one makes a compelling case for a number of reasons. No, it’s not any sort of paint-to-sample special, but it is a rare period color that looks great and has all the makings of an incredible heritage story to share with friends. First up is the color – Imperial Maroon. It was a standard color back in the day, and it also has royal context. While not affiliated with Jaguar back then, Jag’s contemporary sister brand Land Rover displayed a collection of cars last year at Pebble Beach painted the same basic Royal Claret color – the literal color painted on cars for the English Royal Family. This color being the color it is, and the name Imperial referring to a monarchy, the tie to the royal livery is pretty obvious.
The car itself is a desirable ’55 Jaguar XK140 Roadster. In 1955, Jaguar was in a dominant place in the automotive industry. 70 years ago this week, at the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans, disaster happened when a Jaguar D-type collided with another car and was sent into the crowd amassed along the front straight. While a terrible incident, it’s an unforgettable moment in racing history and one that happened the very year this was produced.
The car in question seems well kept, including a conversion to disc brakes. Its carbonated 4.4-liter 6-cylinder and 4-speed transmission likely help it move down the road with relative ease. Its Imperial Maroon over beige leather is a handsome and stately configuration for a car of this most voluptuous era of sportscar history.
Now pivot to the car’s location in Beausoleil, France. In case the yachts in the background haven’t made it obvious, Beausoleil is literally a suburb of Monaco and the listing suggests the car is actually housed in the principality of Monaco. According to the listing, it was acquired via Sotheby’s auction in 1990. While that means you have import the car to the U.S. where most of our readership is based, it also gives you an excuse to travel to Monaco for a test drive, perhaps purchase and collect. And should you collect, how could you resist a little extra time on the French Riviera driving such a wonderful thing.
What: 2022 Audi A6 allroad Color: Audi exclusive Nogaro Blue(nogaroblau; pearl effect UNI; Z5M; Audi) VIN: WAU92BF28NN053445 Mileage: 42,177 miles Price: $53,989 CarFax: Link Window Sticker: N/A Location: Smart Motors Toyota, Madison, WI Listing: Link
If you’re an Audi enthusiast, there’s a lot to love about the A6 allroad we’ve found within the inventory of a Wisconsin Toyota dealership. For those who don’t know, we’ll run down the can’t miss calls to Audi history.
First up is the Audi exclusive Nogaro Blue paint. First appearing in the Audi RS2 era as RS Blue, Nogaro has become synonymous with performance Audi models and specifically performance wagons. In the C8 era as is this A6 allroad, Nogaro Blue was painted on the highly sought-after RS 6 Avant RS Tribute Edition and then blocked from purchase for any other RS 6s until last year… at least in the USA. The color remained open in other markets including Europe and Canada. Even still, the exclusivity adds to the desirability of a Nogaro Blue Audi wagon like this allroad.
Now we’ll go deeper into tailored Audi lore. Back in 2002 during the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, Audi produced a limited run of ten A6 allroads (then simply known as “allroad”) for the use of the German Ski Federation whom Audi AG sponsored. Once the olympics ended, the athletes went home and the allroads were circulated out into American Audi dealerships where they remain highly desirable to enthusiasts in the know.
Those so-called “Olympic allroads” weren’t Nogaro Blue, but Sprint Blue had been introduced as the then replacement to Nogaro Blue. A bold blue of its own, the color was more metallic and slightly more green than Nogaro Blue, but they were very close… so close that this car definitely seems to hark the 2002 Olympic allroads.
There’s one other thing worth calling out there, and that is the Sarder Brown interior. This is a standard interior, but obscure in that it’s only available on the A6 allroad and not the RS 6 or other A6 models. It’s also a relatively low install rate on an already relatively rare car. We can’t say it would be our first choice on a bold color such as Nogaro Blue, but we don’t hate it.
One of a claimed 11 produced over the span of production, and one of 4 said to be in Europe, this E39 M5 represents peak BMW in more ways than one. Tailored brilliantly in Dakar Yellow 2 paired with the incredibly cool M Texture cloth and without a sunroof, it’s an emphatic book-end to what some traditionalists call the golden era of BMW. And importantly for us, the price point is seemingly reasonable- even once you factor exchange rate, shipping and whatever tariff awaits its arrival.
As summer sets in, attention turns to Monterey Car Week. We’re beginning to see initial lot listings at the major houses, so why not start highlighting some of our favorites. To that end, we believe this F50 qualifies in spades.
The color is Giallo Modena, one of just two US specification F50s built in this color. It’s a tasteful configuration, a point that gets driven home when you also mention that it was ordered new by Ralph Lauren who kept it in his possession for eight years.
The car has logged just 5,400 miles and is Ferrari Classiche Certified. Most of us aren’t in the $6M+ Ferrari F50 market, but for those of us who are you may want to pay attention.
What: 1997 BMW M3 Coupe Color: Gulf Blue (code source unknown) VIN: WBSBG9325VEY75602 Mileage: 136,000 miles Price: $28,000 with 1 Day left to bid at time of writing CarFax: N/A Window Sticker: N/A Location: Cincinatti, OH Link: Bring a Trailer
Though not an uncommon color by any stretch, we can’t say we’ve ever seen Gulf Blue on a BMW before. Worth noting then, the car you see here isn’t some über rare BMW Individual build but rather an extensive respray.
We’re typically pretty strict about resprays. We definitely cover them, but prefer to focus on cars that appear to have gone to great lengths to make the new color appear factory and without going too far overboard with modifications. According to the BaT listing, the work on this car totaled $60,000 with Precision Sport Industries in Oviedo, FL.
On the outside, the car looks like a BMW Individual factory car. Inside, changes are more extensive including removal of the rear seat, a half cage, aftermarket steering wheel, stereo, Recaro seats and more. Whether or not that’s for you, or whether you try to find a clean Vader interior is really up to you, but we think it’s pretty wonderfully unique regardless.
Oh, we almost forgot to mention, the overhaul also includes an upgraded S54 engine. Added kit goes well beyond this though, so check out that listing for all the details.
What: 2023 Adui R8 V10 performance Spyder Color: Audi exclusive Solar Orange(Solarorange; metallic uni; LY2G; Audi) VIN: WUACECFX4P7900618 Mileage: 9,746 miles Price: $179,000 CarFax:Link Window Sticker: Link Location: Southeast Auto Showroom, Pompano, FL Dealer listing:Link
Sometimes it’s hard to get an accurate read on colors based on photos. This very handsome Audi R8 V10 performance Spyder is a great example. While its orange paint looks on the darker side of a primary orange… more like a Gulf Orange, the listing shows it as Glut orange that is lighter and closer to traditional Signal Orange.
Either would look amazing on an R8 Spyder so perhaps it doesn’t matter, but we draw attention to it because our experience with Solar Orange (also known as Glut Orange with same color code) is that it’s slightly different than what you see here.
This car is beautifully specced with Pastel Silver leather interior and Rock Grey stitching.
The only modification we’re seeing in the photos are the color of the brakes. The Monroney shows them to be red, though in the photos from the dealership they appear orange. We’re guessing a previous owner had them resprayed.
What: 2025 BMW M3 Competition xDrive Color: BMW Individual British Racing Green(non-metallic UNI; 312; BMW) VIN: WBS33HJ07SFU94710 Mileage: 790 Miles Price: $94,980 CarFax:Link Window Sticker: N/A Location: West Chester, PA Listing:Sky Motor Cars
Westchester, PA’s Sky Motorcars is one of those interesting independent used car dealerships focusing on premium luxury cars, made even more interesting by their ability to consistently show cars in their inventory that are so low mileage as to be virtually new. Such is the case for this 2025 BMW M3 Competition xDrive sedan. It’s got under 1,000 miles on it.
More importantly, it’s in a rare and sought-after BMW Individual color. British Racing Green on an M3 Sedan makes for a handsome and sporting daily. Being well-appointed as well certainly adds further to the case. Okay, it’s not a manual, but it is very compelling regardless.
