Color Check: Nogaro Blue vs. RS Blue at 2014 Geneva Motor Show

Given we recently highlighted the transformation of the Audi RS2’s iconic RS Blue (rsblau; pearl effect UNI; M8; Audi) to Nogaro Blue (nogaroblau; pearl effect UNI; Z5M; Audi) as Audi moved on from Porsche production of the RS2, we remembered a certain layout of the Audi stand at the Geneve Motor Show and wanted to revisit the visual comparison.

Back in 2014, new car motor shows were in their heyday, and Geneva may very well have been queen of them all. Sure, the Frankfurt IAA with its many show halls may have been bigger, but Geneva was where car manufacturers, carrozzeria and even the aftermarket focused on design and performance for the super rich. Audi Sport (then quattro GmbH) always brought their latest sporting models and often built in Audi exclusive one-off specification. For 2014, timed with the launch of the RS 4 Nogaro selection edition, the brand from Ingolstadt brought several blue examples including a vintage Audi RS2 on loan from Audi Tradition.

As we now know, that vintage RS2 Avant was painted RS Blue, while the Audi exclusive RS 4 Avant and RS 5 Coupe seen in these photos is painted Nogaro Blue. Since Audi didn’t reformulate the colors, they are visually identical. That’s not the easiest to see under the super intense show lights of the Geneva Motor Show and while parked on polished white floors of the Audi stand, but it’s still the case.

Interestingly, though the RS 4 Nogaro selection edition press release dropped at Geneva, the car on the stand doesn’t match the specification of the limited series production car. Though that car long predates this site, we’ve gone ahead and retro published the original press release on the Nogaro selection edition along with detailed official shots found in Audi France’s archives. Those period PR photos clearly show the special edition had two-tone black and blue Alcantara seats, plus details like nomenclature on the shift knob and badging at the rear. They also had silver optic wheels, while the car on the Audi stand that year has gloss black and machined finish on the same wheel design.

So what was this RS 4 at Geneva? As mentioned, Audi regularly built tailored Audi exclusive specifications for its booth show cars in those years. Especially on press days when these photos were shot, star cars and RS models frequently had specifications not from the standard order book. The RS 4 Avant shown here was likely an effective one-off by Audi exclusive, but not an actual Nogaro selection edition. The matching Nogaro Blue RS 5 Coupé is more obviously a single Audi exclusive build, with tan seats and grey stitching.

Neither Audi of America nor Audi Canada never sold the RS 4 in North America, much less the RS 4 Nogaro selection edition. However, Audi of America product managers did dip into some of the components (namely the blue Alcantara seats) to create a special Nogaro edition S4 that is highly prized by owners who still have them.