Importable Market Find: Audi exclusive B5 S4 Avant in Merlin Purple

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.

Find it HERE.