It’s always interesting when specification of a non-sportscar Porsche goes deep into the Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur catalogue. Take this Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid posted by Porsche AG to their Facebook feed. It begins with Paint to Sample finish, but it hardly ends there.
The color chosen is already quite handsome. Yachting Blue Metallic looks great on a 911, so no surprise it presents the Panamera in similarly attractive form. As Paint to Sample colors go, Yachting Blue is a subtle choice. Medium blue metallics are common on most standard palettes, so like a PTS white, black or grey, the customer is spending a lot for a subtle tailoring of their car. Showing reservation isn’t always high on the list for a soon-to-be owner seeking to spend thousands of dollars on special paint. Maybe that’s why we love it even more when they do choose subtlety. And no doubt, Yachting Blue is a good look.
Another excellent choice is Porsche’s Neodyme, a subtle gold finish that makes the wheels pop. Paired with Yachting Blue, it seems to hark an ’80s classic feel while still not being retro. Instead, it seems timelessly classic.
Inside, Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur goes even further, pairing stitching that seems color matched to the exterior, and also adding Neodyme interior elements as well so that the outside theme carries through across black leather. Custom door sills and even leather operator’s manual folio both read “Be Bold”. That seems fitting, because despite the subtlety of a medium blue metallic or black leather, the overall specification is still decidedly bold.
We don’t have full specification details on this car and only have the Facebook post embedded here to go on. That’s par for the course with manufacturer special paint social media posts. Like the post themselves, we’re including it here more for paint color reference and inspiration look book of capabilities of the Porsche brand. In that we are constantly impressed.
Porsche’s GT3 variants of their 911 range seem to be the frequent flyers of the Paint to Sample and Sonderwunsch world these days, with Touring seemingly having Platinum status. It’s easy to see why- the GT3 Touring’s near-perfect mix of sport and comfort makes it a compelling forever car, so you might as well make your order count.
This 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 Touring in Paint to Sample Nordic Gold (VIN: WP0AC2A94PS270254) was configured with nearly $53,000 in optional equipment, requiring a discerning eye to really digest the scope of this build. It’s a mix of must-haves like the expanded range fuel tank (drive it!), carbon ceramic brakes and front axel lift, and some nice to haves like the carbon roof, deviated seat belts in grey, and LED-matrix headlights.
Currently offered on Bring a Trailer by power seller Northwest European (username “nweuro”) at a current bid of $229,666 at time of writing with roughly 3 days left to bid, this Paint to Sample Nordic Gold Porsche 911 GT3 Touring represents a great opportunity to own one of the least common hues of Stuttgart’s creation. Get additional details about this Tailored Driver, here.
With a few new creative classes, the Pebble Beach Concours is showing it can evolve into the future and be even more relevant to younger generations. It gets there by embracing car trends that came after the golden era cars that typically grace their greens. And had you wandered past the homologation car arrangement and 70s wedge class, you’d have rolled up on the first SUVs ever to occupy real estate at this vaunted event. Were they worthy, well they each belonged to Queen Elizabeth and were presented by Defender and Range Rover.
JLR’s association with the Royals goes considerably far back, and is an official supplier for their vehicles.
“It was amazing to witness Her Majesty’s ten Land Rovers and Range Rovers rolling past the front door of The Lodge at Pebble Beach and pulling on to the famed fairways of Pebble Beach Golf Links – and I was honoured to greet them there. Crowds were astonished and delighted. Later in the day, the vehicles were an impressive sight parading across our show ramp during the Awards Ceremony – to great applause.,” commented Sandra Button, Chairman of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
We took particular interest in a segment of the display that included a line of Defenders and Range Rovers painted very similarly. Each was a deep and dark red-purple, with thin pin stripe and with royal coat of arms on the door. These cars were official royal service vehicles known State Review or Royal Ceremonial State vehicles. Each were built by Land Rover to specification for the royals for use in the given period ordered. As you can see, there’s a distinct lineage and these vehicles can see service for many years.
Walking past each generation Royal Ceremonial State, it was clear there was a shared specification. Wanting to learn more, we reached out to representatives at JLR and learned some interesting details.
The color of these cars is known as “Claret”, though sometimes called “Royal Claret”. This traditional royal color actually pre-dates the automobile and was used on state carriages. It is reserved only for vehicles in Royal service, meaning neither Land Rover nor JLR have ever offered it on a civilian model.
The first State Review Land Rover was built on a 1954 Series 1 and featured a custom rear platform. It traveled with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on a six-month tour of the British commonwealth. It even made its way to Australia in that time, though today resides in the U.S. where it is owned by a private collector.
This next State Review vehicle was the first Range Rover to carry to serve in such capacity and was built on a 1974 model. It was used from 1975 to 2002, with a modified rear that featured foldaway seats and a lectern with concealed umbrellas. An additional exhaust silencer was also fitted. This vehicle is currently housed in The Royal Collection at The British Motor Museum in Gaydon, UK.
The third State Review Vehicle was based on a 1990 Range Rover. This particular vehicle was notably featured in the photo chosen by the Queen herself for her 1994 Christmas Card. That photo depicted the Queen and Prince Philip aboard the Range Rover attending the 50th Anniversary the D-Day landings in Arromanches. It is also part of The Royal Collection at The British Motor Museum.
The fourth in this State Review vehicle series is a 1998 Range Rover P38A. Built by Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations, it replaced the previous 1990 State Review Range Rover and featured a rear platform design now featuring four foldaway seats rather than the previous two.
The fifth and final State Review vehicle on display at Pebble Beach is this 2005 Range Rover L322. Again built by Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations, this vehicle was notably used to transport the then Prince William, Kate Middleton and Prince Harry during Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday parade in 2016.
We have to say, while we understand why JLR has no interest in building a Queen Elizabeth-specification Royal Claret Range Rover, that doesn’t make us want one any less. Special thanks to the team at JLR North America who entertained and provided answers for our very specific questions in regard to these vehicles.
It was just a few weeks ago that Audi revealed its updated RS e-tron GT including RS e-tron GT performance. And while the new model isn’t yet on sale, the brand is already showing off this tastefully tailored version on their Audi Deutschland Facebook Page.
On the outside, the car gets Suzuka Grey Metallic (suzukagrau, pearl effect UNI; LY7F / M1 ; Audi) paint. Near as we can tell, this extremely light grey first began appearing on Audi exclusive models during the B7 Audi RS 4 era. Since that time, it’s been a quasi regular standard offering on RS and R8 models from Audi Sport GmbH, and also a popular go-to for Audi exclusive customers.
Inside, the cockpit of this RS e-tron GT performance gets even more special treatment, including Fine Nappa Leather in black and Diamond Silver. Red accents give it further individualization. See the original Facebook post embedded here, plus a gallery of the car below that.
You have to love BMW M’s social media presence. Photo shoots of special build BMW Individual offerings are a regular theme in their feed, cars like this latest G90 M5 sedan painted BMW Individual Frozen Deep Grey metallic (frozendunkelgrau; metallic matte; P7X; BMW).
These shots come from BMW M’s Facebook feed that you can follow HERE. Follow and like it and we’re pretty certain you’ll trick the Facebook algorithm into feeding you more BMW Individual builds. Even if they don’t though, we’ll make sure to keep them regularly posted here as well.
There are actually several posts of this particular car that we’ve embedded below, giving us plenty of angles on the car in various settings. In those photos, added as a gallery at the bottom of this post, we also get a good look at interior, brake and wheel trim though the posts don’t detail much further than basic model specs and the paint color. Should you be able to confirm the other build details, drop them below in the comments.
In the mid-2000s, there quite simply was not a more iconic shape than Audi’s R8, and to help market, Audi pulled an all-out product placement blitz. Iron Man drove one. Will Smith drove a derivative in I, Robot. Justin Timberlake impressed Cameron Diaz with his in Bad Teacher.
This example (VIN: WUATNAFG6BN001428) finished in Audi exclusive Ipanema Brown (Y8Y) over chestnut leather (also exclusive but unconfirmed) could be easily considered a best of pre-facelift non GT spec R8. V10 engine, gated 6 speed manual, and perhaps somewhat controversially a spyder, this Audi exclusive Ipanema Brown R8 V10 spyder checks all the right boxes.
Certain to be a future classic and a decent near-term investment, this Audi R8 V10 spyder is currently available at Porsche Barrington for $134,991. Get more details about this Tailored Driver, here.
Paying tribute at Pebble Beach to the three-pointed star’s competition at the Nürburgring was this unique Mercedes-AMG GT R surrounded by legendary racing cars of the same marque. Mercedes aimed to celebrate its own 130 years in motorsport as a theme at its Monterey Car Week installation, and the specification on this GT R did just that.
GT3 versions of the car are stalwart competitors in the VLN and 24 Hours of Nürburgring, an iconic race at an iconic track also known as “The Green Hell”. It’s from that race that this medium green hue from MANUFAKTURE takes its name – Green Hell Magno (greenhellmagno; pearlescent metallic matte; 376; Mercedes-Benz).
We weren’t able to gain access to the inside of this one, but the specification listing for the car confirms the interior is black MB-Tex with Dinamica.
Watch for more highlights of tailored Mercedes on display in Monterey on this site.
You don’t get to the point of viability for Ferrari ownership by half-assing it, especially if the goal is new vehicle allocation. So should your number be called, why opt for Rosso Corsa over Beige? The individual who made the selections for this build certainly had a vision, and we’d say they knocked it out of the park
A reported one of one finished in Ferrari Tailor Made Blu LXL Lucido Tetto Nero over Lava SC–235 Leather sourced from Italian luxury furniture firm Poltrona Frau with Sail Aunde 3D Nero centers to accentuate the stripes Daytona style seats are legendary for, this may be one of the more intricate interiors we’ll feature. Moving past the obvious, the lengthy list of options does include other notable additions like Airbrushed Shields on the fenders and embroidered on the headrests, Carbon Fiber wheels, and Apple Carplay.
After all that time, dedication, and agonizing, its genuinely a shame that this Ferrari Tailor Made Blu LXL Lucido Tetto Nero SF90 Spider has covered only 160 miles since new. In other words, it’s pretty likely it’s got some original fuel in it, even if the driver didnt take advantage of the claimed 8 miles of electric range. We can only hope the next caretaker of this Tailored Driver exercises it regularly.
This Ferrari Tailor Made Blu LXL Lucido Tetto Nero SF90 Spider (VIN: ZFF96NMAXP0292368) is currently on offer at Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale, FL in $851,585. See all the details, here.
Leave it to Monterey Car Week to bring back memories of one of the best perks of new car shows like Geneva, Frankfurt or New York. Though those new car expos are now long gone, an expansive Mercedes-Benz installation at Pebble Beach during Monterey Car Week proved whomever runs Mercedes’ auto show fleet still knows how to order an incredible tailored spec. Take for instance this Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E in stunning MANUFAKTUR signature Rubellite Red metallic (rubellitrot; 660 / 3660; Mercedes-Benz).
Rather than digging too far into the performance details of the AMG GT 63 S E that you can find anywhere, our focus will be solely on the tailored build spec. Rubellite Red Metallic is a classic deep burgundy, a color that accents well with red touches on the tail model badges, the amber brake calipers and also with the handsome new satin finish Mercedes-AMG badging on the nose. The cockpit of the big Merc accented exquisitely, tailored in MANUFAKTUR signature Sienna Brown with Black segmentation.
With fewer and fewer auto shows, the tradition of highly unique factory tailored cars that get displayed on show stands and offer just a bit of subtle provenance for those who know is something special. It’s a practice the automotive enthusiast world needs more of, so thanks to Mercedes for bringing this and more to Pebble Beach. Look for more highlights from this stand in the coming days.
While we’d love to think that everyone is as fascinated by the world of Tailored Driver as we are, we’re also realistic. Unfortunately to some a vehicle is just inventory, the color is secondary, and in the post-COVID marketplace, effort required to move that inventory isn’t as high as was once required. Case in point is this Audi exclusive Panther Black Crystal Effect (Z9Z) RS 5 Sportback (VIN: WUAAWCF5XNA900593) at Porsche South Orlando. Hear me out.
First we’ll start with the good. Audi exclusive Panther Black Metallic is a fairly dynamic color, and we feel the selling dealer did a pretty good job of capturing the brown and purple metallic flake found within the paint that tends to pop in the Florida sun. Second, while there are few images, they’re fairly clear, certainly in focus, and set an expectation that leaves us wanting more.
But sadly this Tailored Driver has not been detailed or prepared (a license plate is visible), the images are fairly low resolution, and the color, while called out as an exclusive hue, is spelled completely wrong. Now none of these are mortal sins, but for something that is marketed at $67,499 at time of writing and likely a one-of-few ever made at a highline dealer with a photo booth, we’d love to see a bit more effort put into the listing.
Regardless, this Audi exclusive Panther Black RS 5 Sportback represents a great point of entry into the world of Tailored Driver, that we’d happily park in our driveway. Learn more about this Tailored Driver, here.
