While it’s easier to attain a Tailored Driver if your wallet is thick enough to require chiropractic intervention, we think it’s more fun when Tailored status is within reach of the everyman or woman. At €3,500 (about $3700 USD, plus shipping) this E39-generation 520i Touring painted in BMW Individual Atlantis Blue Metallic and paired with the frankly wild Boa Boa cloth interior and a timeless 5 speed manual transmission is exactly that- fun. Consider it more of a starting point though, as the 520i isn’t exactly going to win any awards in the speed department, and the rear hatch will challenge even the most recent of tetanus shots, but the point remains. Some elbow grease, maybe a different motor, and this could be a sub-$15,000 Cars and Coffee award winner.
What: 1999 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG Color: Mercedes-Benz Lapis Blue Metallic (lapisblau; non-metallic Uni; 945U; Mercedes-Benz) VIN: WDB2020331F827875 Mileage: 111,776 km, 69,454 miles Price Estimate: $60,000 to $80,000 CarFax: N/A Window Sticker: N/A Location: Gooding & Company Amelia Island Auction 2025, Amelia Island, FL Listing: Link
During the era Mercedes-Benz was producing its first-generation W202 C-Class, special paint colors were less common than the more apparent MANUFAKTUR presence today. Bold colors like the Lapis Blue shade shown here were even less common, except perhaps in Europe where home market offerings were a bit more fanciful.
When it comes to the W202 C43 AMG, only 3,085 of the cars were produced at all. This was the early Mercedes-owned AMG era, and the cars were made worthy of the badge by Stuttgart fitting its 4,266 cc DOHC V8 engine good for 302 hp paired with a 5-speed automatic transmission…. not to mention all the expected braking and suspension upgrades. These cars are often most easily spotted for their subtle bodywork upgrades and more obvious 17-inch Monoblock wheels.
These cars are just becoming classics given their relative production years, not to mention the resurgence of the so-called “rad era”. They’re even more special when you see it’s a rare-at-the-time special order paint in a color as bold as this Lapis Blue hue. Worth noting, there’s a more commonly found Lapis Blue Metallic from Mercedes that is considerably darker.
In period, this C43 was a competitor to the BMW M3 or Audi S4, so you have to wonder the thinking of the buyer who dreamed up this particular specification. As it turns out, the car was ordered via the Mercedes-Benz Stuttgart dealership. That’s literally ground zero when it comes to Mercedes-Benz home town, where Mercedes clientele probably don’t get any more savvy. You have to figure too that the owner of such a car wouldn’t want to be missed by Audi or BMW drivers (much less the Porsche types) while blasting down the unlimited speed zones of the A8 Autobahn between Stuttgart and Münich.
We can draw conclusions, but whatever that buyer was thinking, he or she appears to be the only one thinking of it. This car is believed to be one of one, the only W202 C43 built in that particular bold Sonderlackierung (special-order) shade of Lapis Blue. Inside, that blue was paired with Graphite / Anthracite AMG leather upholstery (code 581A). It’s also reportedly got a long list of factory options.
The car spent most of its life registered in Germany, remaining well-maintained, well-preserved and highly original without any modifications. To prove this, the offering includes documented owner history, the Mercedes-Benz factory data card, associated books and AMG Classic Conversion Certificate.
What: 1999 Audi A4 Avant 2.8 quattro (MT6) Color: Laurel Green Metallic (lorbeergrün; metallic uni; LY6R / 7N; Audi) Chassis #: Unknown Mileage: 185,664 km, 115,366 miles Price: €11,350 CarFax: N/A Window Sticker: N/A Location: Lahn Dill Automotive, Herborn, Germany Dealer listing:Link
Why We Love It:
It’s cars like this that make our staff come to blows. Why? Perhaps a better question is why not?
How does one define a “tailored driver” and thus, should a car be posted to this website? So far, we’ve focused with few exceptions on cars that are special ordered from a marque’s in-house tailoring department or others remastered by firms with a niche specialty for building consistent and commissioned reimagined automobiles.
So, what of a truly exceptional standard spec built from the factory order book? In their day (particularly days when brand order guides were vastly deep and rife with costly complexity), they were a clearly tasteful expression by a buyer who knew their way around the configurator without necessarily ringing up the tailor. Take for example this 1999 Audi A4 Avant we’ve found for sale in Germany.
We actually dug out our 1999 A4 catalogue to verify this one. Laurel Green Metallic (a.k.a. Vorbeer Metallic) was indeed a standard color in that year. In the stock color palette, it suffered from a relatively low take rate that made it somewhat rare, rarer still in North America where we don’t believe it was offered at all.
At the time, Audi had an interesting way of pre-packaging color combinations, with three grades of A4 – Advance, Ambition and Ambiente. Laurel Green was offered in Ambition and Ambiente, optionally paired in either case with Ecru (light tan) Buffalino Leather as seen in this car. This car was built to Ambition spec.
As factory specifications go, this car is a notably luxurious German build. It foregoes sporty options like a wild color or sport design steering wheel, yet focuses on a handsome color combination, luxurious cabin and large displacement engine (2.8-liter V6). For that, it offered a comfortable environment that was perfectly capable of autobahn-storming.
By 1999, Audi’s A4 had received its mid-lifecycle product improvement, also known more commonly as a facelift, which included updated door handles, lower inset foglights and other subtle upgrades. This particularly well appointed survivor also got quattro all-wheel drive, ESP, and a host of options listed below. Add that to the enthusiast-darling Avant (station wagon) body style in a rare or never-available color and you have the makings of a winner for the discerning aficionado seeking a car from this late 90s / early 2000s era.
The dealer shares that the car appears to have had two owners prior to this, with maintenance carried out regularly. The service book was maintained without gaps to 66,969 km by the Audi dealer. The original car invoice is also included and seen in photos shared.
That said, the dealer also shares that the car did have “an encounter with a bollard” that required the hood, bumper and associated parts to be replaced with original Audi parts. Beyond that, some wear and tear can be seen in photos, but surprisingly little given the age.
All things considered, a nicely appointed A4 Avant is a great way to affordably get into this space. The hotter S4 and RS 4 versions are definitely more sought after, though few will be appointed as uniquely as this A4 2.8 quattro.
Options Listed:
ABS
ESP
electric glass sliding roof with sun protection/blind
Concert
All-wheel drive
Factory-fitted navigation system in the speedometer
Xenon headlights
Headlight washer system
Roof rails chrome
Full-leather seats Ambition leather Buffalino
PDC rear
Seat heating with seat bolster heating
Leather steering wheel
Decorative inlays, walnut root wood
Armrest front and rear
Heated windscreen washer nozzles, front
Leather handbrake lever and gear knob
Servo
Tachometer
ASR
Central locking with radio
Electric windows 4x
Electric exterior mirrors
Electronic immobilizer, with anti-theft alarm system and interior monitoring
Through-loading with ski bag
Make-up mirror 2x
Airbags (head, front and sides)
Split rear seat
Original 16-inch alloy wheels
Automatic climate control
Lumbar support, electric. adjustable in front seat backrests
Outside temperature display
Cup holder
Fog lights
8 speakers (active)
Colored glazing
Rear headrests
Front seat adjustable
Spare wheel in driving tires
Three-point automatic belt for middle rear seat
Side protection strips in vehicle color
This is one of our Euro market finds, so the usual caveats apply for our primarily North American readership. For Europe and other markets, we focus on cars older than 25 years, meaning a relatively easy import into the USA. This is often done by working with firms such as our friends at Orchid Euro, you can have the car purchased, transported to port, shipped to America and cleared through customs for clients seeking this sort of service.
What: 1999 Mercedes-Benz E 55 AMG Station Wagon Color: Unknown Green or Blue VIN: N/A Mileage: 199,999 km (24,273 miles) Price at Time of this Writing: € 19,900 CarFax: N/A Window Sticker: N/A Location: Rüsselsheim-Königstädten, Germany Dealer listing:Link
Why we love it:
Hear us out. Yes, we know the E 55 AMG Station Wagon was sold in the United States. They’re exceedingly rare, especially in solid survivor condition, but they were sold here. Still, anyone who loves these cars or is seeking a unique long roof may find this one worth going through the extra effort of importation. That it’s old enough for easy import is one obvious reason, but more so is the unique build specification this car got from the factory. This sort of specification would have been extremely difficult if not impossible for anyone in North America to order, so it’s worth noting… even if it does have a dash of turn-of-the-century Y2K kitsch in the color choices.
Regarding the color, it’s a bit of a puzzle. It’s listed as “green” and 027 Designo-LCP paintwork, then later in the thorough option code listing we see Z98 PAINT FINISHES OUTSIDE THE SAMPLE CARD. So, we know it’s special paint, but we don’t know what color as “027” is effectively ambulance white in the lexicon of Mercedes-Benz color codes.
Looking over the photos, the color almost appears to be a predominantly blue metallic that fades to green from certain angles or in certain lighting conditions. So, we’re not even sure if it’s blue or green. Maybe it’s both.
Inside, the car has a period “Avantgarde” interior package, which is typically two-tone leather with segments of the seats in some more bold color. In this case, that color is green that would have been popular in the late 1990s when this car was produced. It’s not a timeless shade of green, but it definitely puts you in the period and plays on the theme.
We’re going to go ahead and list the listing description and options (translated to English with Google Translate) for reference here. We found them all in the car’s listing over on AutoScout24.
LISTING TRANSLATION BELOW:
Beautiful E55T AMG in LCP from 2nd hand with no maintenance backlog Vehicle from 2nd hand 23 years in one hand Service booklet available AMG rims in several parts in 18″ Inspection with engine mount recently new Summer tires in 5/2024 new Non-smoker Very well-maintained vehicle Sale on behalf of customer Original equipment codes according to MB query Sales name E 55 T AMG AMG order number 0822300604 Delivery date14.12.1998 Paint number027 (Invalid designo-LCP paint) Interior 581 (Exclusive leather – black/anthracite) Engine 11398060006397 Transmission 72263601237265 213 PARAMETER STEERING / VARIO STEERING 214 ADAPTIVE DAMPING SYSTEM 220 REAR PARKING ASSIST 231 GARAGE DOOR OPENER 242 RIGHT DRIVER’S SEAT ELECTRICALLY ADJUSTABLE WITH MEMORY 249 INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR MIRROR AUTOMATICALLY DIMMING 260 TYPE PLATE ON REAR LID REMOVED 275 MEMORY PACKAGE (DRIVER’S SEAT, STEERING COLUMN AND MIRROR) 312 SUN BLIND IN THE CARGO AREA (PARTITION GRID) 345 RAIN SENSOR 351 ECALL EMERGENCY CALL SYSTEM 363 ECALL CONVERSION TO NATIONAL EMERGENCY CALL 414 ELECTRIC GLASS SUNROOF 423 AUTOMATIC 5-SPEED GEARBOX 472 PETROL PARTICULATE FILTER (OPF) WITHOUT SENSORS 500 ELECTRICALLY FOLDABLE EXTERIOR MIRROR 543 SUN VISOR WITH ADDITIONAL FUNCTION 551 BASIC BURGLAR AND THEFT ALARM SYSTEM (EDW) 570 ARMREST WITH COMPARTMENT AND REAR COMPARTMENT VENTILATION 581 AUTOMATIC AIR CONDITIONING 581 EXCLUSIVE LEATHER – BLACK/ANTHRACITE 600 HEADLIGHT CLEANING SYSTEM 611 SURROUND LIGHTING 612 XENON HEADLIGHT LIGHT UNIT 673 BATTERY WITH LARGER CAPACITY 682 FIRE EXTINGUISHER 772 AMG STYLING – FRONT SPOILER, SIDE SKIRTS 774 AMG 5-SPOKE WHEELS 18″ ALL AROUND 810 SOUND SYSTEM PREMIUM 815 SINGLE DVD DRIVE 819 SOUND2LIGHT 873 HEATED SEATS FOR DRIVER AND PASSENGER 882 SENSORS AND SIREN BURGLAR AND THEFT ALARM SYSTEM 910 ALTERNATOR WITH LARGER CAPACITY 954 EQUIPMENT LINE/PACKAGE – AVANTGARDE 988 INVALID (VEHICLE REGISTRATION AND COC PAPER AND TYPE PLATE) Z51 BUSINESS CONSOLE WITH SOCKET Z98 PAINT FINISHES OUTSIDE THE SAMPLE CARD
What: 1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello Color: Grigio Ingrid (grigioingrid; metallic uni; 720; Ferrari) VIN: ZFFZR49A6X0114824 Mileage: 15,106 Price at Time of this Writing: N/A CarFax: N/A Original MSRP: N/A Location: RM Sotheby’s 2024 Monterey Jet Center Auction Auction listing:Link
Why we love it:
Red Ferraris may not be dime-a-dozen, but they’re kind always expected. So, when you have an owner spec the car in something entirely less obvious, you’ve always got a winner. Take for example this 1999 550 Maranello in rare Grigio Ingrid Metallic, a platinum silver that isn’t even your typical silver. That’s paired with Bordeaux and Crema leather with optional Crema piping for one very lavish cabin.
Worth also noting is that it’s got a gated manual, and Broad Arrow reports a clean CarFax. If you happen to be out at Monterey Car Week, swing by the Jet Center and check out this very tailored 90s-era GT.
What: 1999 Mercedes-Benz G 500 Classic Cabriolet Color: Almandine Black Metallic (almandinschwarz; metallic uni; 182 / 9182; Mercedes-Benz) VIN: WDB4632061X118986 Mileage: 47852 km Price at Time of this Writing: Estimated $275,000 to $325,000 CarFax: N/A Original MSRP: N/A Location: Broad Arrow 2024 Monterey Jet Center Auction Auction listing:Link
Why we love it:
As G-Wagen’s go, the G 500 Classic Cabriolet is an incredibly rare specimen. This one is finished in Almandine Black Metallic that is actually an incredibly dark red. Paired with two-tone Black and Purple Nappa Leather interior, it’s a subtle yet distinct specification that is sure to please.
Check it out in the Broad Arrow Monterey Jet Center Auction that is part of the always-entertaining must-see Monterey Car Week.
