A tuner’s green masterpiece
Nico Morand’s Audi S4 Avant is admittedly not a subtle car: Flared wheelhouses, powerful side skirts and spectacular light alloy rims are topped off with a designer finish that makes this mighty estate into a shimmering show car.
The creator behind this extensive transformation is based in Bern: NF Performance has made a name for itself well beyond Switzerland as a true craftsman’s workshop for auto tuning and finishing. This Audi is their best example to date: Since the two owners, Nicolas Morand and Bert Galster, finished it, it’s been as hard to miss as the Queen’s own Golden State Coach.
Complex pattern requires great skill
Above all else, this is thanks to the coating. Its unique look is due to the specific way it was applied: The car, which was originally black, was repainted in silver, overlaid with an artistic pattern of stripes and surfaces, then finished in translucent green. The shimmering pattern is typical of so-called “low riders” (vehicles that use air-lift technology to lower themselves down to the ground). This look may not be to everyone’s taste, but one thing is for sure: The painter who designed this Audi must have had a vast visual imagination and real skill with their spray-gun.
NF Performance offers both: Nico Morand, a trained bodywork technician, taught himself to paint cars. Even as a boy, the 29-year-old dreamed of building up his own tuning company. In 2014, he met Bert Galster, who – being ten years older than Morand – had over 20 years of experience refinishing cars and had already made a name for himself as an airbrush artist. The two hit it off from the start, and NF Performance was soon born.
750 working hours invested in the Audi
The two have created a real tuned-up gem with this green Audi. The work involved was considerable: The conversion took approximately 750 working hours – and vast quantities of paint. To achieve the result, they used Spies Hecker products: Permacron Base Coat 293/295, Permasolid HS Vario Primer Surfacer 5340, HS Premium Filler 5310 and Permasolid HS Optimum Clear Coat 8600. Paint specialist Bert Galster has nothing but praise for basecoat 293/295: “It’s ideal for airbrushing”, he says. His colleague Morand adds, “We used 70 kilograms of clearcoat alone for the Audi. We have been working with Spies Hecker for three years now and we’re very pleased with the results”.
NF Performance’s achievement in establishing itself (and now planning further expansion) is due in no small part to the green Audi. It has become a brand ambassador, showcased at auto shows in Switzerland and abroad, and has won over a dozen awards including from the renowned “Tuning World Bodensee”.
For more information about NF Performance, visit www.nf-performance.ch.
