Porsche Centre North Toronto made waves this week when they shard photos of a recent 911 S/T arrival in their showroom. Specced by Marty @OneMan1138, this S/T is laden with Sonderwunsch special wishes touches in a way that’s highly attention-grabbing and likely also polarizing.
The basic specs provided by Porsche Centre North Toronto are these. The car includes 44 bespoke options, including most obviously the color scheme in Ultra Violet, Ruby Star Classic and Racing Yellow. As you can see from inside shots, the interior follows along on the colors and the theme.
First up, Porsche Ultra Violet (ultraviolett; non-metallic UNI; M4A / G7; Porsche) is a 911 GT3 RS color from the 991 era. Ruby Star Classic a.k.a. Rubystone Red (sternrubin; non-metallic UNI; 82N; Porsche) is effectively a hot pink that was a 964-era Carrera Cup color that has remained a cult classic since its inception. The two together are an interesting pair in their own right, though throw in Racing Yellow (renngelb; non-metallic UNI; 1S1 / P3; Porsche) and the net effect goes so much further.
The car, known as “ONEMAN”, isn’t for sale. We’re classifying it in our Market Find – Acquired Taste section in addition to color check because it is such an opinion-generating build. Congratulations to Marty on the new S/T. We hope it’s everything you expected, and it is truly unforgettable.
According to Porsche Club of America’s Rennbow color index, Racing Yellow (renngelb; non-metallic UNI; 1S1 / P3; Porsche) replaced Speed Yellow as the go-to yellow of choice when Porsche includes a yellow in its modern models. Rennbow also shares that, in person, Racing Yellow is a touch more green than Speed Yellow. Given its commonality as a standard offering, this isn’t an extremely rare color.
When you think of a car as exclusive as the 2019 Porsche 911 (991.2) Speedster, you probably assume that anyone with the positioning to have had a build slot and the means to pay for the car more than likely would have commissioned their own unique specification… or at least a Paint to Sample finish. Well, if you’d assumed that you’d be wrong as we’ve gotten our hands on the 2019 model catalogue and were intrigued to see there was a standard color palette listed. In as much, it’ the latest in our weekly Color Chart series.
Frankly, we may have even been more surprised that in 2019 there was a product catalogue. Manufacturers have moved increasingly to better and better configurator tools on their websites, allowing you to simulate very specific option configurations and even some Paint to Sample simulations. That’s all remarkable of course, but when manufacturers like Porsche move on from an older generation car like the 991.2, the specifics of those configurations seem to get lost to time… at least those configurators become lost as a reference. In those cases you have to go old school and find a model catalogue, a task that’s getting harder and harder to accomplish given highly complex configurators are a lot cheaper to build and distribute than printed catalogues. Perhaps the happy medium then is the PDF catalogue.
For that we turned to one of our favorite references autocatalogarchive.com. There, amidst their seriously deep collection of Porsche catalogues, we found a 2019 Speedster book. Using that as a reference, we’re able to list the colors offered on the 2019 Speedster. See those below, or go directly to the MY2019 Porsche 991.2 Speedster catalogue HERE.
Colors Offered on the 2019 Porsche 911 Speedster Include:
Porsche Brand Ambassador Jörg Bergmeister turns to Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur and the Sonderwunsch team to create a 911 GT3 RS worthy of a 24-hour winner.
[source: Porsche AG]
The afternoon of 2 February, 2003, was a historic day for Porsche. When a privately entered 911 GT3 RS crossed the line at the Daytona International Speedway, it had not only won its class at one of the toughest and most prestigious endurance events on the international sports car calendar, but in so doing had beaten all-comers to take an unprecedented overall victory.
One of the drivers that day was Jörg Bergmeister, a graduate of Carrera Cup competing in only his second 24-hour race at Daytona. Alongside him were Michael Schrom, Timo Bernhard and team owner Kevin Buckler, whose 996-generation customer racer was entered by TRG or ‘The Racer Group’ and finished in the team’s now familiar blue and yellow livery.
Fast forward two decades and the teammates are now old friends in regular contact. And when the new 911 GT3 RS was announced in August 2022, a seed was sown by Schrom that would lead Bergmeister on an 18-month journey to a unique and a deeply personal car of his own design.
“The idea came from Michael Schrom”
“The idea actually came from Michael in the summer of 2022,” Bergmeister says. “When he heard about the new GT3 RS he pointed out that the following year was the 20th anniversary of our win at Daytona in a GT3 RS. It was perfect timing.”
Bergmeister was able to secure an allocation for a GT3 RS with the provision for all-important Paint to Sample. His Daytona winner was painted in Rivierablue, a colour that had been with the driver since his earliest days racing Formula cars in his native Germany. Working closely with Porsche’s Sonderwunsch team, a design was gradually created that would closely replicate the original livery while introducing a number of unique elements to commemorate the anniversary of that special win.
Panels in Rivierablue
Bergmeister specified a car without the bare carbon Weissach Package in order to paint all the panels in the correct Rivierablue. Exterior elements in contrasting Racing Yellow were applied to match those on the TRG race winner and the rear wing was painted in white with side plates in Racing Yellow. On the underside of the rear wing, a Porsche crest was also applied, while further exterior touches included the model name on the rear deck and foil decals on the car’s flanks in matching Racing Yellow.
Inside, Bergmeister specified extended black leather with stitching in contrasting GT Silver and additional Race-Tex covering the dash. The car was also ordered with the Club Sports package that includes a one-kilogram road-legal fire extinguisher, another nod to its thoroughbred predecessor. But the most striking feature of the interior would be the unique carbon fibre door sill panel, the lettering on which emulates the engraving on the Rolex watches awarded to winners of the 24 Hours of Daytona.
After a year-long wait, Bergmeister was finally presented with his bespoke GT3 RS in Zuffenhausen in mid-February, by happy coincidence on his 48th birthday. He credits Sandy-Marc Bauer from International VIP & Special Sales and Boris Apenbrink, Director Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur Vehicles and Options, and his dedicated team with the successful realisation of his dream.
“A lot of people were involved with this project,” Bergmeister says, “helping to get all the little details on there. And everyone who has seen the car since and knows the story behind it really likes it.”
The car is now receiving full paint protection before its maiden outing, with Bergmeister eager for the drier conditions of spring to arrive. “I can’t wait to drive it but first the weather needs to get better. I’m definitely not going to take it out on salty winter roads. It’s a little too precious to me to be a daily driver!”
When the right day arrives, it is certain to be a poignant moment for everyone involved. “I’m still proud of what we achieved back then at Daytona, and this car has brought back those memories already. I’m not usually that emotional, but when I first saw it I got goose bumps. I feel so fortunate that it’s finally done and I’m super-stoked with how it’s turned out.”
