The focus is on the availability of classic Porsche colours, recognisable from over the years. For especially individual requests, there is also the option of creating bespoke shades to customer specifications. “Unusual paint finishes have been familiar throughout the history of our brand and are an important differentiating feature,” says Alexander Fabig, Head of Individualisation and Classic. “With this offer, we are reviving cult-classic colours and expanding the extensive range of standard and special colours across all the model series by more than 160 shades.”
Paint to Sample: cult colours celebrate a comeback
In recent years, the demand for custom-painted Porsche cars has risen sharply. With its new options, Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur has significantly increased capacity in this area. A new colour-mixing bench has been put into operation at the main plant in Zuffenhausen, where paint specialists blend several dozen ingredients down to the last milligram in order to achieve the desired shade. Each batch is divided into two paint pots for bodywork and add-on parts. The areas to be painted on the vehicle consist largely of aluminium, plastics and carbon/fibreglass composites. This mix of materials and the different application methods and drying temperatures require slightly different paint compositions, depending on the component. Batch comparison plates are painted and serve as colour reference samples during the final inspection of the vehicle.
Porsche is not only expanding its colour range, but also restructuring it: Custom Colour has been renamed Paint to Sample. This category includes predefined colours that have already been technically approved by Porsche’s paint specialists. Examples include Maritime Blue, Rubystar Red and Mint Green. These colourful choices from the 1990s enjoy cult status among Porsche fans. In the past, they were offered on the 911 (Type 964). As part of Porsche’s enhanced individualisation strategy, the legendary paint shades are now celebrating a comeback. Thanks to Paint to Sample, current Porsche models can be painted in these eye-catching classics.
The range is really diverse and depends on the model series and production location. For the 911 and 718 model series, there are more than 100 additional paint colours to choose from. For the Panamera, Macan and Cayenne, there are more than 50 options, while a further 65 colours complete the range for Taycan customers. Paint to Sample can be ordered as part of new vehicle configurations at Porsche Centres. It adds about three months to the delivery lead time compared to standard colours. Prices within the model series vary depending on the derivative. The offer is set to be integrated into the Porsche Car Configurator from early 2022. Online filter options, for example by colour family, and background information on the individual colours will follow successively.
Paint to Sample Plus: extensive feasibility check
For especially individual colour requests, Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur goes a step further: with Paint to Sample Plus the paint finish can be chosen almost entirely freely. This option is available for the model lines 911, 718 and Taycan.
The procedure is as follows: the customer hands over a sample of their desired colour to the Porsche Centre – anything is conceivable, from a favourite shirt or scarf to a nail varnish colour. This sample is then sent to Porsche AG. There, a separate feasibility check is carried out for each request, which can take several months depending on the work involved.
From there, Porsche’s colourists create the formulation. These experts develop the hue on the basis of the available paint components. Then, in several rounds, the shade is further developed so that it also corresponds to the sample under different light sources, such as daylight or artificial light. Next, the feasibility of the colour is tested under production conditions on the car body and add-on parts. It is also essential to define the layer thickness, which enables process-stable, reproducible and error-free painting. Before the actual customer vehicle is painted, the colour is applied to a test body. If it transpires that the desired shade cannot be realised in accordance with its usual quality standards, Porsche will bear the costs of the feasibility test.
About Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur
A sports car as individual as your own fingerprint, as unmistakable as your own lifestyle: in an interplay of craftsmanship and attention to detail, Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur creates extremely personal customer vehicles. Highly qualified employees with decades of expertise devote their full attention to every detail and enhance it through hand craftsmanship. The experts can draw on a wide range of visual and technical customisation options for the exterior and interior. The highest standards are fulfilled with respect to material and finishing.
Alongside the individual customer vehicles, Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur also produces limited small series and editions. Here, high-quality materials are combined with modern production technologies to create a harmonious overall concept. Porsche Centres provide advice on the range and possibilities offered by Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur as the first point of contact alongside the online Car Configurator. Around 100 Exclusive Manufaktur partners are available to customers all over the world to help fulfil particularly individual wishes. These are Porsche Centres that are specially equipped and trained to provide advice on the Exclusive Manufaktur product range. In addition, advice is available for all models at the heart of the brand in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, in cooperation with the Porsche Centre and on the basis of a commission number. The main plant specialises in individual paint finishes: Werk 1 has the largest collection of Porsche colour samples and sample vehicles painted in Paint to Sample.
Info
Prices within the model series vary depending on the derivative. For example, Paint to Sample for most 911 and 718 models costs 8,806 euros ; for the 718 GT and 911 Turbo, Turbo S and the GT models, it costs 9,877 euros1.
Price examples for Paint to Sample Plus: 17,612 euros for most 911 and 718 models and 19,754 euros2 for 718 GT and 911 Turbo, Turbo S and the GT models.
1) 2) Recommended retail price for Germany including 19 per cent VAT.
