Twice a year, the Pantone Color Institute publishes the Pantone Fashion Color Trend Report, its preview of popular and innovative colours that provides important stimuli for the world of design and fashion. In the latest issue for New York Fashion Week (NYFW, 6 to 11 September 2024), Pantone presents Turbonite – the first time the report has featured a customized colour from an automotive brand. Since the end of 2023, Porsche has been sharpening the look of its Turbo derivatives with this elegant metallic grey tone. The sports car manufacturer and the colour specialist will celebrate the publication of ‘The Story of Turbonite’ with a high-profile event ahead of NYFW.
“Every designer and graphic artist knows the Pantone colour cards. In the same way that the Porsche 911 is the archetype of all sports cars, for more than 60 years the US company’s colour standard system has been the reference work for everyone that uses colours in design,” says Michael Mauer, Vice President Style Porsche. “We are proud to be the first outside brand represented in Pantone’s Fashion Color Trend Report. Turbonite is unique. An innovative, timeless, strong, but not loud colour that gives our Turbo derivatives an unmistakable, self-assured look. Like all Porsche colours, the newly developed colour shade was created over several years in a labour-intensive creative and development process.”
The target group for Pantone’s Fashion Color Trend Report encompasses the entire design and fashion world. The colour trends that it forecasts significantly influence future collections. “Car design and fashion have inspired each other for many years. Trend scouts very closely observe what’s new and what can be adapted,” says Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute. “In our opinion, Turbonite has the potential to become an iconic colour and shape the perception of the Porsche brand for years to come. Simply put, this metallic grey tone has that certain something. We are happy to reward the courage it took to develop this exclusive colour by including it in our Pantone Fashion Color Trend Report Spring / Summer 2025/2026.”
In August, Porsche celebrated the 50th birthday of the 911 Turbo with a special edition, while also commemorating all Turbo derivatives as a special, highly emotional part of the brand. A limited anniversary model of the 911 Turbo S and a Taycan Turbo S will be present at the ‘Porsche x Pantone’ event as part of the NYFW, illustrating that irrespective of body shape and drive concept, Turbonite creates a unique look all by itself.
About Turbonite
Gold-tinted elements create the elegant, metallising effect of Turbonite. The top layer exhibits a contrasting satin-matte finish. For the Porsche Turbo derivatives across all model lines, the lettering on the rear, the Daylight Opening (DLO) and the borders of the side windows are finished in Turbonite, which is also the dominant colour in the exclusive crest. All the range-topping high-performance models feature this crest on the front of the car, as well as on the lightweight alloy wheels and the steering wheel. Depending on the model line, further details such as the inlays in the front aprons, the spokes, or the aeroblades in the light alloy wheels can be finished in this exclusive colour.
Additionally, selected components in the interior, for example the trim strips and the belt straps, as well as a number of controls such as the mode switch and the air conditioning controls, also come in Turbonite. In this case, too, the exact scope depends on the model line. In combination with a black interior, Turbonite is also used as a contrasting colour for the decorative stitching on the seats, door panel trims, instrument panel and floor mats.
About the Porsche colour programme
At the start of 2024, Porsche revised and emotionalised the colour scheme for all model lines. Contrasts, Shades, Dream and Legends are the names of the categories for former standard, metallic and special colours. These reflect a variety of topics, and their emotional labels make it easier for the customer to choose a colour.
Alongside the standard colour programme, the sports car manufacturer offers even more individualised paintwork with ‘Paint to Sample’ and ‘Paint to Sample Plus’. With ‘Paint to Sample’, the focus is on the availability of classic Porsche colours recognisable from the company’s history. At present, the range across all model lines comprises more than 170 colors. ‘Paint to Sample Plus’ also offers the option of creating highly individual colours based on customer specifications.
About the Pantone® Fashion Color Trend Report
The colors presented in the half-yearly Pantone Fashion Color Trend Report are selected from the Pantone Fashion, Home + Interiors colour system, the most widely used and highly regarded colour standard system for fashion, textile, home and interior design. Each season, the Pantone Color Institute publishes the Pantone Fashion Color Trend Report as a half-yearly colour trend preview for the coming season, presenting the most important colours expected at the New York Fashion Week and the London Fashion Week. Over the entire season, the Pantone Fashion Color Trend Report provides a colour reference for retailers, brands, fashion designers and the press.
About Pantone
Pantone provides the universal language of colour that enables colour-critical decisions through every stage of the workflow for brands and manufacturers. More than 10 million designers and producers around the world rely on Pantone products and services to help define, communicate and control colour from inspiration to realization – leveraging advanced X-Rite technology to achieve colour consistency across various materials and finishes for graphics, fashion and product design. Pantone Standards feature digital and physical colour specification and workflow tools.
The Pantone Color Institute™ provides customized colour standards, brand identity and product colour consulting as well as trend forecasting inclusive of Pantone Color of the Year, Fashion Runway Color Trend Reports, colour psychology and more. Pantone B2B Licensing incorporates the Pantone Color System into different products and services, enabling licensees to communicate and reproduce certified Pantone values and improve efficiencies for their users. Pantone Lifestyle brings colour and design together across apparel, home, and accessories.
