Tag: Color Focus – Audi exclusive

  • Color Focus: Audi Nardo Grey – LY7C

    Color Focus: Audi Nardo Grey – LY7C

    CODE:  LY7C

    COLOR DATA:

    #C0C6C8
    rgb(192,198,200)
    4,1,0,22
    RAL 7035

    TYPE: Non-Metallic

    CONTENT ARCHIVE: Audi Nardo Grey

    SUMMARY:

    It’s funny, there are some colors that become meteoric, becoming so popular that they become iconic and risk becoming ubiquitous. Such is the case of Audi’s Nardo Grey (nardograu; UNI; LY7C; Audi exclusive), a light grey that came on the scene as a standout in Ingolstadt’s RS car lineup.

    Variations on the pastel light grey theme were a thing in the early 2000s, with the Audi TT’s Aviator Grey then Suzuka Grey, Porsche’s Sport Classic Grey then later Chalk. Nardo Grey came into the lexicon roughly in the middle of this grey cloud and seemed to strike a nerve.

    Maybe it’s the nature of the general idea of battleship grey. Ian Fleming’s original James Bond 007, the one in the book and not the movies, famously first drove a Blower Bentley painted battleship grey. And though that car has never graced the silver screen, many other racing cars have including in the pre-war era that would have birthed the Blower Bentley.

    By the time Nardo came on the scene on cars like the Mk2 TT RS or the B8 RS 5, what was old was new again and the shading had a certain perfect balance of light and dark that all made it very distinctive. It was so popular that it became a very regular choice in Audi exclusive tailored specifications, and even got picked up by clients from other brands. Today, it remains common in the Audi RS stock palette though we’d argue so common that it’s now not quite as special in those early Mk2 TT RS days. Nevertheless, it’s still handsome.

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  • Color Focus: Audi Samoa Orange Metallic – X2U

    Color Focus: Audi Samoa Orange Metallic – X2U

    CODE:  X2U

    TYPE: Metallic

    CONTENT ARCHIVE: Audi Samoa Orange

    SUMMARY:

    Believed to be used initially as a launch color for the R8 GT, Samoa Orange Metallic (samoaorange; metallic UNI; X2U; Audi) embraced Audi’s heritage for earth tones in the late 2000s, a time that also birthed Ipanema Brown and Teak Brown. This fiery dark orange would later be used as more of a standard color when the first-generation R8 got its facelift, then later on the TT competition. It even shows up on an R8 Mk2 on screen as Tony Stark’s R8 Coupé in Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. As a result, Samoa Orange Metallic remains a popular choice in the extended Audi exclusive color palette.

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  • Color Focus: Audi exclusive Nogaro Blue – Z5M

    Color Focus: Audi exclusive Nogaro Blue – Z5M

    CODE: Z5M

    TYPE: Pearl Effect

    CONTENT ARCHIVE: Nogaro Blue

    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.

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  • Audi exclusive Merlin Purple – LZ3W

    Audi exclusive Merlin Purple – LZ3W

    ORIGINATING MARQUE: Audi

    CODE: 4B, LZ3W, Z3W

    TYPE: Pearl Effect

    CONTENT ARCHIVE: Merlin Purple

    SUMMARY:
    One of the most popular purple paint codes from Audi exclusive must certainly be Merlin Purple Pearl Effect (merlin purple; pearl effect; 4B / LZ3W / Z3W; Audi). Though it’s rarely ever been offered as a standard color, its presence amongst Audi exclusive cars in the market is relatively common thanks to the great level of appreciation it holds over fans of the four ring brand.

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    Below is a gallery of several Audi cars painted in Merlin Purple and posted to Instagram by some of our favorite accounts.