What: 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo Color: Porsche Slate Grey(schiefergraumetallic; metallic UNI; 22D; Porsche) VIN: WP0AC2992VS375554 Mileage: 41,500 miles Estimated: $280,000 – $320,000 CarFax:Link Window Sticker: Link Location: The Amelia Auction, Amelia Island, FL Link: Broad Arrow
If Porsche Club of America’s Rennbow color archive is accurate, Slate Grey Metallic wasn’t a standard color on a 1997 911 Turbo (type 993). Rennbow has it down as offered to 1995, then returning in 1999. If true, that would make the car you see here technically a Paint to Sample specimen. Broad Arrow, the auction house planning to sell it this weekend during the concours weekend at The Amelia has it listed simply as “rare”.
Whatever. It’s handsome. It’s also interesting in that it’s a metallic take on a classic color. In fact, Porsche has several colors known as “Slate Grey”. There’s the original non-metallic driven into the Le Mans city center by Steve McQueen in the opening sequence of Le Mans, and also Slate Grey Neo reintroduced as part of the launch of the hybridized 911 GTS (type 92.2). In the era of the 993 though, Porsche had added metallic flake.
In the case of this car, it’s one of 612 Turbos sold to the U.S. in 1997. Broad Arrow suggests “just over a handful” were painted Slate Grey Metallic. It was delivered new through Stead Motors in Walnut Creek, California. Options included metal door sills with insignia, black floor mats, plus self-dimming mirrors & rain sensor. We’re also seeing leather on the dashboard and rare Porsche Tequipment pieces like the partial aluminum shift knob and e-brake lever with Porsche script.
The car sells this coming weekend, so if you’re game then get to The Amelia or make arrangements to bid from afar.
Despite the potential for being dismissed as simply ‘beige’ by onlookers, Porsche’s Geyser Grey Metallic is a pretty interesting color in the eyes of Tailored Driver. Most commonly seen on the 50th Anniversary 911, Geyser is an off-white with a fairly subtle metallic flake for some added dynamism. The 991-generation GT3 Touring is a home run in our books, but the aforementioned Geyser Grey Metallic paint and hounds tooth insert Carbon Buckets elevate this 911 to grand slam territory.
Atlanta. Porsche Experience Center Atlanta (PECATL) today announced the opening of a new exhibit in the Heritage Gallery featuring some of the rarest Porsche cars on the road and track. As part of the celebration of the Center’s 10th anniversary in Atlanta, the exhibit titled “The Why?” – aims to uncover what motivates and inspires the brand’s most devoted owners and fans.
“The exhibit isn’t only about the cars; it’s about the people behind them and the special meanings those cars hold for them,” said Michelle Rainey, Director of Porsche Experience Centers.
The new collection features one-of-a-kind personal builds and legendary race cars—from the 1994 911 Turbo S Flachbau to the 1953 356 Pre-A, a shining example of Porsche’s beginnings over 70 years ago. The cars are surrounded by displays that tell the unique stories of each car in detail.
Included in the lineup: 1994 911 Turbo S “Flachbau” A rare “Flatnose” 911, this Turbo S is one of only 76 ever built.
2018 911 GT2 RS MR (Manthey Racing) The ultimate roadgoing 911 GT2 RS, the 911 GT2 RS MR features extreme changes to both its dynamic performance and aerodynamics to create the most agile and focused iteration of the ‘991’ generation of the 911.
1953 356 Pre-A The 356 Pre-A is where the Porsche story began more than seven decades ago. One of the early U.S. imports through the famed Hoffman Motor Car Company, it exemplifies the core principles of beauty and engineering integrity that guide us today.
2023 RSR-19 “Rexy” Part of the beloved “Rexy” race car series, this T-Rex-inspired, Porsche RSR-19 raced with AO Racing in 2023. With its toothy grin meant to evoke a T-Rex, “Rexy” has become a firm fan favorite.
Lowenbrau 962-103 Known as the “Holbert Racing Löwenbräu Special,” this 962 was built in 1984 for the IMSA GT Championship and has become one of the most successful and recognizable race cars in Porsche history.
This collection will be on display until July, when new vehicles will join the exhibit which runs through 2025.
How to visit: “The Why?” at the Porsche Heritage Gallery inside Porsche Experience Center Atlanta is open to guests with existing reservations, whether they are here for a drive experience—on the track or in a simulator—dining at Restaurant 356, or attending a private event. For those without a prior booking, the exhibit can also be accessed by booking a tour or purchasing a general admission ticket at PorscheDriving.com/Atlanta.
About Porsche Cars North America, Inc. | One Porsche Drive, Atlanta, GA 30354 USA Established in 1984, Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA) is the exclusive U.S. importer of the Porsche 911, 718 Boxster, 718 Cayman, Macan, Cayenne, Panamera and Taycan. The Porsche Car Configurator can be used by anyone to customize and pre-order any vehicle in that lineup at any time. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, since 1998, PCNA is home to the first Porsche Experience Center in North America, which features two module-based 1.6 mile driver development tracks, a business center and Restaurant 356. The campus is also home to the U.S. headquarters of Porsche Classic. The company operates a second Porsche Experience Center near Los Angeles. That complex features a driver development track with eight educational modules totaling 4.1 miles, a business center, Restaurant 917 and the headquarters of Porsche Motorsport North America. PCNA supports 203 independently owned and operated Porsche dealerships in the U.S., four Porsche studios and five satellite stores in the U.S., including supplying parts, service, marketing, and training. They, in turn, work to provide Porsche customers with a best-in-class experience that is in keeping with the Porsche brand’s 75-year history of leadership in the advancement of vehicle performance, safety, and efficiency. PCNA is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Porsche AG, which is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. *
At the core of this success is Porsche’s proud racing heritage that boasts some 30,000-plus motorsport wins to date.
What: 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S Color: Paint to Sample Ocean Blue Metallic(ozeanblau; metallic uni; 6A6; Porsche) VIN: WP0AD2A96MS257126 Mileage: 7,303 miles Auction Price: $229,900 CarFax:Link Window Sticker: Pictured Below Location: Riviera Beach, FL Link:Florida Performance Cars
Having been most notably applied to late production 993 (1997) and early production 996 (up to 2000) models, Porsche’s Paint to Sample Ocean Blue Metallic is a stunner that flies incredibly far under the radar. Similar enough to Lapiz Blue that we’d not fault you for being mistaken, Ocean is deeper, darker and much less common. We’d love to see it again in the future, and are happy to document it here on Tailored Driver.
What: 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Color: Paint to Sample Mint Green(mintgrün; non-metallic uni; 22R / N4/ 20A / M1; Porsche) VIN: WP0AC2A96JS175170 Mileage: 19,848 miles Auction Price: $26,750 (current) CarFax: LOL Window Sticker: N/A Location: Stoughton, MA Link:P Car Market
Some Tailored Drivers come with more of a story than others, and if written, this Driver‘s page count would be somewhere between War and Peace and The Bible. The incredibly brief version is that this GT3 was repossessed wearing a half-completed widebody prototype, and at some point transitioned from being a vehicle to being someone’s living quarters. It was then passed around for a bit, until eventually the current seller set out to bring it back to presentable. With a full glass-out respray (and probably a lot more!), the car is presentable and could be just the no-reserve ‘deal’ someone is after.
What: 2024 Porsche 911 Targa 4S Color: Paint to Sample Sepia Brown(sepiabraun; non-metallic uni; R8007 / 6836 / 415 / 7474; Porsche) VIN: WP0BB2A99RS234862 Mileage: 1,013 miles Asking Price: $229,995 CarFax:Link Window Sticker: Link Location: Glen Cove, NY Link: Ryan Friedman Motorcars
The next owner of this Tailored Driver has to really love brown. While we’ve played around with Porsche’s Paint to Sample configurator and toyed with the idea of Sepia Brown, we’ve yet to see someone take the plunge. Perhaps because it’s a non-metallic, meaning it’s a LOT of brown. That certainly didn’t deter the curator of the spec, as they doubled-down on the choice with Heritage seats in Cognac Leather. Is it too much of a good thing? We’ll let you decide.
Unlike the much more common Porsche 911 Carrera RS of the 964 era, the 911 Carrera RS 3.8 is an actual homologation special. Okay, technically the “plain” Carrera RS boasted a lot of changes consistent with the then-current Carrera Cup series, but the 911 Carrera RS 3.8 was built literally to homologate the car for international GT racing requirements.
Beginning the with shell of a Porsche 911 Turbo used for its wider track, each car was transported to Weissach’s racing department so that it could be hand built. Lightweighting ensued, limited not just to deletion of unnecessary equipment but also introducing aluminum equivalents of doors and front trunk lid from the RS 3.6. The car’s RS front spoiler got an extra lip for improved downforce, while other changes included replacement of the foglights with air ducts for the oil cooler, a larger adjustable rear wing, plus 3mm gauge glass for side and rear windows.
Those are just the visual changes. This was a Porsche homologation special after all, which means the chassis got its share of changes too. A larger diameter adjustable anti-roll bar, strut brace, Bilstein suspension, Turbo brakes, reprogrammed ABS, and deletion of power steering all added to the car’s capabilities. Beyond that, it rolled on three-piece 18-inch Speedline Cup wheels in 9-inch width at the front and 11-inches at the rear.
Under the fiberglass engine cover was the M64/04 3.8-liter flat six. That motor was derived form the same 3.6 as the Carrera RS, though it was bored out to 102mm while stroke was retained. Lightweight pistons with shorter wrist pins and reduced head height were also part of the design, as were six individual throttle bodies positioned close to the inlet ports. There was a custom inlet manifold and larger valves with lightweight rockers, not to mention a twin-pipe exhaust system.
Only 55 examples of the 911 Carrera RS 3.8 were built, plus another 49 Carrera RSRs, which was enough satisfy the FIA’s homologation requirement of 100 cars. Interestingly, only one road car was required by the rule, though Porsche shrewdly built quite a few more in order to net some additional income. This was, by the way, the 964 era where Porsche was struggling to stay afloat financially.
This specific car was built in 1993 and is one of twelve examples to be built in Speed Yellow. The seatbacks of the car’s Recaro Pole Position seats were color matched to the body, while the rest of the interior was trimmed in black leather along with contrasting grey seat inserts just as we tend to see in the Carrera RS.
The car was first delivered to Porsche Zentrum Bielefeld in Germany in October 1993, then was exported to Japan before again returning to Europe in 2007. It’s currently located in Paris, France, though its age would make it an easy import into North America.
What: 2018 Porsche 911 Carrera S Color: Paint to Sample Voodoo Blue(voodoo-blau; non-metallic UNI; Z12; Porsche) VIN: WP0AB2A91JS122993 Mileage: 17,000 miles Price: $TBD (Auction) CarFax:Link Window Sticker: N/A Location: Genau Auto Works / Novato, CA Auction Listing: Link
Porsche’s Paint to Sample Voodoo Blue is quickly attaining frequent flyer status at Tailored Driver, and for good reason- the pale blue looks quite incredible, regardless of application. While somewhat wild to say, 2018 was already 7(!) years ago and just slightly before Paint to Sample became a nearly must-have option for new Porsche buyers. So while the color may be somewhat common, the application certainly is not. That nuance makes this 4-owner, 17,000 mile example just a bit more exciting.
What: 1988 Porsche 959 Sport Color: Porsche Grand Prix White(grandprixweiß; non-metallic Uni; 908 / P5 / 9A5; Porsche) VIN: WP0ZZZ95ZJS905016 Mileage: 3,757 miles Price Estimate: $5,500,000 – $6,500,000 CarFax: N/A Window Sticker: N/A Location: Coral Gables, FL Link: RM Sotheby’s
Rare car. Rare spec. Not tailored.
Besides silver, a white 959 isn’t especially rare. Yes, this still a Porsche 959 road car built for Group B homologation we’re talking about, so it’d be worthy in these pages anyway. However, we give it extra points for having rare specification within that space.
The color is Grand Prix White, so in the lexicon of Porsche paint colors that’s G-body vanilla. In fact, Grand Prix White and Guards Red were the only colors made available on the 959 Sport.
Notably, we love the look of the incredible 959 center lock Cup-looking magnesium 5-spokes also color-matched to Grand Prix White. The latter is why we call it “white on white” in the title, a styling cue that is oh-so-quintessentially 80s and arguably consistent with the Porsche’s 1983 Gruppe B prototype concept car. So, while vanilla, it’s still a great look.
Also, this is a 959 Sport, is a whole lot more rare than the 959 Komfort. Of the 292 production 959s constructed, only 29 of them were built to Sport specification. Differences for the Sport included full leather-wrapped roll cage with four-point racing harnesses and cloth upholstery. As weight savings measures, the Sport also saw the deletion the Komfort’s adaptive suspension that was replaced with conventional coilovers. Air conditioning and stereo were also deleted. All told, these deletions shaved some 220 lbs. off the weight of the Komfort.
A detail worth calling out is the car’s seats. In this pre-964 era, Porsche wasn’t yet fitting Recaro Pole Position shell seats from the factory as they would in the Carrera RS and many, many more. Thus, the 959 Sport uses Porsche’s familiar folding bucket in big bolster configuration. Where it differs is pass-throughs for racing harnesses. It’s also got unique Sport-specification fabric seating surfaces stitched with the same unique gradient striping one would see in a 959 Komfort’s leather seats.
The car you see here is the 16th 959 Sport built. Briefly sold directly to an American associated with a privateer Porsche racing team, the car’s first owner quickly sold it off once he learned he’d have no luck importing the car to America. Even still, he didn’t do it before renting out a track for a day and having some fun with it.
The car would spend most of the rest of its life thus far in Switzerland, before going to Italy in 2015 then America after that.
Atlanta, GA – Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA) and RM Sotheby’s announced today that a rare 911 S/T auctiongarnered one million dollars. All proceeds from the sale will benefit the American Red Cross to help people affected by disasters big and small across the country, including the wildfires in California and recent flooding in the South. The generous bidder, who has chosen to remain anonymous, is known to PCNA having previously purchased the 911 Sally Special, which also benefited charities.
“On behalf of everyone at PCNA, we are truly grateful to the winning bidder for their generosity,” said Timo Resch, President and CEO of Porsche Cars North America. “Their bid will make a meaningful difference to the outstanding work of the American Red Cross.”
The Red Cross responds to more than 65,000 disasters nationwide each year – from single-family home fires to extreme weather events affecting entire communities. Most recently the American Red Cross has been active in California. Since the outbreak of the fires in Los Angeles, the American Red Cross has provided over 14,500 overnight stays shelter, 128,000 meals, as well as over 102,000 relief supplies such as flashlights, face masks, water and other essentials to those directly affected.
“Thanks to the Porsche Cars North America and RM Sotheby’s auction, the Red Cross is able to support families impacted by disasters big and small across the country,” said Anne McKeough, chief development officer at the American Red Cross. “We are grateful for this partnership as we work together to provide help and hope to people in times of dire need.”
Painted in Shore Blue Metallic and equipped with the Heritage Design Package, the auctioned 911 S/T is number 1,919 of the 1,963 vehicles created to mark the 60th anniversary of the Porsche 911. It is the only 911 S/T in the United States not yet assigned to a customer. Many connected to Porsche contributed their time and energy to the auction, including actor Orlando Bloom who lent his support to raise awareness of the sale, and RM Sotheby’s who waved their usual fees to maximize the amount that reaches the Red Cross.
“It’s deeply gratifying to support the American Red Cross in partnership with Porsche Cars North America,” said Gord Duff, President of RM Sotheby’s. “We’d like to send our heartfelt congratulations to the new owner of this amazing car and thank them for their generosity in supporting communities in need.”
In addition to the car, the winning bidder will also receive a limited-edition 911 S/T Porsche Design timepiece and an exclusive owner’s manual pouch signed by Director of the GT model line, Andreas Preuninger.
