Always nice to find something a bit off-menu at daily special pricing isn’t it? Currently on offer at West Chester, Pennsylvania’s Sky Motor Cars, this Audi exclusive Corsa Red SQ5 (VIN: WA1B4AFY7M2055565) has covered just over 11,000 miles since new, yet is priced similarly to your run of the mill Grey, Black and White versions. With an asking price of $44,980, this might just be the Tailored Driver you’ve been looking for.
The combination of Corsa Red with Black Optic package is no doubt a stunner, although our more heavy footed fans may need to exercise some restraint. The bright shade could also prove to be a VIP invite to meet and greet your local traffic patrol. Moving past the exterior hue, this SQ5 is all business on the inside with Black leather and deviated white stitching throughout. We wouldn’t kick it out of bed.
It’s not all rosy, however- this SQ5 does have a minor on the CarFax. If that’s a deal breaker, no sweat. But we do think this one might be worth looking the other way. Get all the details about this Tailored Driver, here.
Some colors are just made for the season, and if it’s autumn then we can’t imagine a better fall color than Samoa Orange Pearl (samoaorangepearl; pearl UNI; LX2U / J0; Audi exclusive). Launched initially on the first R8 GT, Samoa Orange is an Audi exclusive finish on this current-generation RS 3 sedan.
We caught this car and a few photos by Ryan Raymond on the Audi Club North America Facebook Group and it looks fantastic. Whether paired with the factory black wheels or aftermarket gold, it’s hard not to love this car.
Today we’re excited to bring you the first of what we hope to be many for Tailored Driver– fan submitted content. Kaleb, the owner of this Audi exclusive Sprint Blue (sprintblau; pearl UNI; LZ5F / 5N; Audi) RS 5 Cabriolet, reached out shortly before his Cars and Bids listing went live, and we were happy to hear from him. Not only a fantastic, incredibly high sticker ($94k!) Tailored Driver, but also a truly great enthusiast’s car to boot.
The B8.5 Audi RS 5 Cabriolet is already a rare car. If production numbers we’ve found over on Audiworld.com are accurate, only 769 U.S. market Cabriolets were produced (versus 2747 Coupes) between MY2013 and MY2015. And while this does sound consistent with what we’ve heard in the past, it’s the note of Audi exclusive painted examples that make us think their count may be missing at least some color data as they list no “individual” colors in MY2013 or M&2014 (like this car), though do list 25 “Exclusive” colors in MY2015. No doubt Audi might provide more specific details on the Audi exclusive mix, or if this car is one of multiple or one of one as it sits in its Sprint Blue on black leather color way.
What is Sprint Blue? The color appears to have debuted on the B7-generation Audi S4. Having produced Nogaro Blue from the earliest RS2 production (as RS Blue) and through B5 and B6, it seems the brand was looking for a new bold blue paint code to freshen up that end of the palette spectrum. Sprint Blue Pearl was that blue, though favors more to the green/cyan side of the blue spectrum as compared to the more purple/magenta oriented Nogaro Blue.
In period, Sprint Blue was a popular factory color choice and is seen regularly on the B7 S4, B7 RS 4 and early B8 S and RS models. By the time the B8 received its “B8.5” facelift like this car though, Sprint had been replaced with Audi’s Sepang Blue that is a bit lighter and with less green. So, when cars like this RS 5 were produced, Sprint Blue had already gone. Likely the person who chose this specification fell in love with the color and kept it going with this special order. And it’s hard to argue. The car looks fantastic.
Get all the details and follow along on Cars and Bids as the auction for this Tailored Driver (VIN: WUAC6AFH5EN900954) will close in just two days.
With Audi having most unfortunately ended production on all of its coupe, the TT, R8 and now A4 and all their variants now cut from the lineups, the brand is getting a bit short on cars that represent in-your-face passion over sensible upright people movers. We’d wager the Avant embodies some place in between – sensible yet passion-inspiring when built to the right specification… like say… an RS 6 performance in an Audi exclusive color.
What you see here is a mix of public relations photos dropped by Audi in Germany of the current RS 6 performance model, but here painted in Nimbus Grey (nimbusgrau; pearlescent UNI; Z7X; Audi exclusive), a paint that is a throwback to the earliest days of the TT, and has paired that with wheels in neodym gold finish. Those wheels reveal a new facet to the decades old and familiar Nimbus Grey Pearl paint that we really appreciate.
Back in Audi Sport’s Le Mans era, factory drivers would get their choice of company car and virtually all of them chose the RS 6 Avant. Even back then with the R8, TT RS or RS 5 to distract them, most preferred the have-it-all mentality of an RS 6 Avant. Several would order Audi exclusive colors like Lucas di Grassi who’d ordered Vegas Yellow as a hat tip to his Brazilian Heritage. However, that year, we most appreciated Andrea Lotterer’s choice – Nimbus Grey Pearl. That would have been the full previous generation RS 6 (C7), so we have to credit Andrea for having the idea to pair a classic TT color with the RS 6 Avant. We’ll take it though, and we’d encourage anyone ordering a new RS 6 Avant to consider doing the same.
There’ve been specially painted Audi models probably since there’s been an Audi brand, but the arrival of Audi exclusive as a factory tailor service and resulting availability in the market of these unique specification cars only really dates back to the 1990s. It’s rare that we actually find cars from this period, so when we do we tend to celebrate it. When we find one that’s a truly collectible or sought after specification, well we go weak in the knees.
Given all of that, you probably wouldn’t be surprised to hear our jaws hit the floor when this listing was shared around the Tailored Driver team group chat. The B5 S4 holds a special place in enthusiasts’ heart, much less a well preserved manual transmission Avant. Now throw in Merlin Purple Pearl (merlin purple; pearl effect; 4B / LZ3W / Z3W; Audi) paint paired with blue Alcantara segmentation on its black leather interior and we’d argue it elevates a very well-preserved survivor to a pretty strong case for collector status.
On the downside, this car is located in Germany. On the upside, it was first registered in 1998 so a relatively easy import into the USA via contract services from the likes of Orchid Euro. That it’s European does suggest a few more complexities for acquisition, but its EU specification production also means it’s got EU specification options like that Audi exclusive paint or optional Recaro sport seats that were standard in the B5 RS 4 and we didn’t get in the U.S.A. until the B6 era.
Mileage is in kilometers, so it’s worth noting that 234,000 km equates to 145,000 miles. And while that’s not museum piece mileage, it is exceedingly low for this age of car. That the Avant looks largely unmodified also makes a strong case for its collectability.
So, is it worth buying and importing? We’d say yes. We’d also say that you better hurry, because you’re probably not the only people dropping the car’s current owner a message upon seeing these photos. We suspect you’ll be competing with many others to make a deal happen… maybe including us.
Though the updated RS e-tron GT is a fully forward-facing modern EV, the paint chosen for these launch photos of Audi’s updated electric autobahn stormer is a bit of a throwback. You see, Audi’s Nimbus Grey Pearl (nimbusgrau; pearlescent UNI; Z7X; Audi exclusive) first debuted back in 1995.
It’s subtle color to be sure, a medium grey with an equally low-key pearl undertone that won’t sear out eyes or cause jaws to drop at the local Cars & Coffee, but it is handsome, teutonic and will draw an nod of appreciation from knowing Audi aficionados.
So, when Audi chose to paint a new RS e-tron GT in this color, many may have been hard pressed to recognize a difference from the ubiquitous Daytona Grey already offered on the pre-facelift model. However, there is a difference and we certainly appreciate it both for its most excellent appearance and its draw to Audi’s rich color heritage.
Audi released video of this car that we’ve also added to our YouTube channel. We’ll embed both that video and the photos below.
Nowadays at the factory tailors, it tends to be more affordable to specify a factory color of the marque in question than it does to cross the badge divide and choose from another carmaker’s palette. Such is definitely the case of Audi where deviation to that level will jump you to another price tier. Given the disparity, cars deviating from the brand tend to be a little more special and a lot more rare. Such is the case for this 2020 Audi R8 V10 (Vin: WUAKBAFX7L7901975) painted Chalk (kreidegrau; non-metallic UNI; M9A / 3H; Porsche).
Maybe it’s the Porsche + Audi association of 1970s Can-Am, or perhaps the Porsche and Audi collaboration on the RS2, but we love the look of an established Porsche color on an Audi offering. Yes, Audi has colors that are close – Siam Beige, Nardo Grey, but Porsche Chalk is its own thing and pairs excellently with an R8 V10 slathered in black optics and carbon fiber componentry like he R8’s signature side blades. Yes, it’s all a but subdued, but the owner thought of that when they went for blue stitching as an accent. It’s an excellent specification.
It’s also now four years old, has logged just over 8,000 miles and is used. Yes, $199,000 is on the higher side of the R8 market, but it looks impeccably maintained and even the facelifted naturally aspirated R8 is now out of production, meaning fewer and fewer new inventory exists. People seeking this car, much less a very special specification such as this, are running out of options.
We found this car for sale over at Southeast Auto Showroom in Palm Beach, FL. Check it out HERE.
SUMMARY: Might Nogaro Blue (nogaroblau; pearl effect UNI; Z5M; Audi) be the ultimate color for four rings cars wearing an RS badge? Well, we know it is pretty much the original. The color first launched as RS Blue when it first appeared on the Porsche-built and developed RS2 Avant. It would later reappear in the B5 S4, first-generation S3 and remain a favorite for S and RS applications and special editions through to today. The “RS Tribute Edition” take not the RS 6 Avant, itself a tribute to the RS2, remains one of the most sought-after of the C8 RS 6 models sold in the U.S.A.
Nogaro Blue is a pearl effect blue that seems to hat tip the pre-war national French Blue made iconic in that era when raced on the likes of the Type 33 grand prix cars. Rumor has it that Audi designers in the Simi Valley design studio sprayed out a marine blue in a request back to the factory for company car specification, which inspired the development of RS Blue.
Don’t confuse that with Porsche’s Maritime Blue, a 90s Carrera Cup color of the same era popular on the 911 Carrera RS (type 964) and 968. The timing, Porsche DNA and and their similar appearance would suggest they might be the same code by another name, but park them next to each other and you’ll see a difference.
Most of the time, Audi exclusive orders are “sold orders”, meaning they’ve got an eager buyer waiting on them who carefully chose their specification. Sometimes that buyer is unable to take delivery, and sometimes these tailored cars get ordered for inventory. We can’t say we know the back story on this RS 6 Avant performance (VIN: WUA1DBF21RN905489) in stock at Audi Englewood in Englewood, NJ.
How do we know? Audi Englewood’s Andrew DeTerlizzi posted the car in the Audi Exclusive Classifieds / Listing Spotters (USA) user group on Facebook. We could see the car along with actual photos of the car on Audi Englewood’s website (HERE), but until Andrew posted it we weren’t sure of the exact color of purple. Now, thanks to him, we can confirm it’s Merlin Purple (merlin purple; pearl effect; 4B / LZ3W / Z3W; Audi). Thanks to Andrew for posting it in the group (a regular haunt of ours), and his confirming the final color.
Here’s what we know about the car. It’s an RS 6 performance (basically all MY2024 RS 6s short of the GT are), and features Black Optic Package, Executive Package, and Audi Guard Protection Kit. It’s listed with an MSRP of $151,355. We have not contacted the dealer to verify if any dealer markup is involved.
Some people say the RS Q8 is the budget Urus. Audi’s most aggressive RS take on its Q8 product line shares engine (at a lower horsepower tune) and a lot of hardware with the Lamborghini, not to mention platform, so the comparison makes sense. And though the Urus is definitely more aggressively tuned in most every way, the RS Q8 checks most of those boxes while being a bargain in comparison. It’s even more of a bargain when it’s got Audi exclusive special paint and someone else has taken the depreciation hit for the first few years. Enter this 2021 (VIN: WU1ARBF13MD023666) that’s turned up at Porsche North Houston.
The color is Java Green, a popular go-to for Audi exclusive buyers… or maybe a popular go-to for dealers putting Audi exclusive builds into inventory. Whatever the case, we see Java Green on Audi exclusive builds with some regularity. It’s a handsome medium light metallic green that pairs well with the RS Q8, offering just enough Skittle factor without looking like it’s trying too hard.
Inside, the car has red stitching. While red is Audi’s motorsport color and always looks handsome, pairing it with green can be a challenge unless you’re really into Christmas or you’re Italian. For this author, it’s an acquired taste, but the amount of cars I’ve seen pairing red and green together make me think maybe there are fewer of us that find it objectionable than there are who seek it out.
Whatever your take on the green and red debate, it’s worth noting the mileage, age and price of this RS Q8. 2021 is the first year, and thus the furthest depreciated of the RS Q8 line. Even still, with just 19,754 miles on it, that’s just barely broken in and much lower than average for most cars. Pair that with the Audi exclusive paint and an internet asking price of $89,991 on their website listing HERE and we’d call that a great value.
