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The Last of the 918s - the special PTS cars & their stories!
I must tell you that until recently I thought that PAG would stick to their announcements that that they would not
duplicate in paint the foil decals themes they had originally announced for the 918. The problem for collectors with
the factory foil wrap was that the 'decals' are not guaranteed to last beyond a few years...and then what? The solution
was to paint the design schemes directly to the panels! But would the factory agree to do that?
Well initially they refused. But apparently somebody convinced them that this was the right thing to do for their most
demanding 918 customers - an elite among their long list of VIP clients. And these special PTS 918s were then set to
be built & delivered last. Almost all were based on famous 917 liveries in Porsche history.
Here is the list of cars I have been able to identify:
1) Mark Webber - 'Salzburg Racing Design' in Paint
So far, these are all the 918 I have seen done in this special PTS process. The latter involves painting two colors
on the same panels, something which is not normally available via PTS.
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Costs: 'If you have to ask, you can't afford it'
Regular PTS on the 918 was $21000 for most colors. Some of the more complicated PTS were priced at $49,000
(e.g. Pearl White 947). The two exclusive 'Liquid Metal' paints, which required 9 coats applied in high precision
(metal flakes were aligned properly by magnets) and three clear coats, was priced at $63,000.
I can only guess that for the design, labor & execution of these last PTS 918s in historic liveries, PAG probably
charged their customers over $100K + for the privilege! And when you add some of the special requests done
by 'Porsche Exclusive' in the interior - e.g. special leather colors, deviating stitching, deviated leather beading,
unique leather headrest embossing - the combined expenses for the paint & interior is probably close to $150K
for these special PTS 918s!
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My understanding is that for the Gulf 918s, the factory used the current PTS approved 'Gulf Blue' & 'Gulf Orange'
colors. If Vaughn Wyant has documentation that points out to the use by PAG of different hues for his two cars vs
the Atlanta car, I will be glad to correct my statement.
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For Mark Webber's car, PAG matched the colors of the current 917 at the Porsche Museum done in Salzburg livery
(by the way, the original chassis was 'lost' - this is not the LeMans winning historic chassis). I took photo of that car
in July.
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For Hurley Haywood's 918, PAG added the Brumos colors which was not complicated to do. And the factory previously
had done 'Brumos' Limited Editions, the most recent if I recall was the B59 '12 997 GTS below. So we know that the
'Brumos' colors are on file at Zuffenhausen!
This was the easiest PTS livery of the bunch that PAG had to do. I hope Hurley got a discount on his PTS option!
****
For the 'Blue-Purple/Green' & 'Yellow/Red' Hippie car, the story now takes an interesting turn. Both color schemes are based
on 'one' historic 917 chassis # - 917 -021. That chassis was raced in various liveries. And that is where the story needs to be
told in full so that you can understand what these two 918 owners were trying to 'honor' or 'pay homage' in their particular
(& expensive) color schemes:
OK, now that you know the story on 917-021, let's go to the easiest of the two 918 'Hippie' color scheme
to explain why it was done that way. The 'Yellow/Red' Hippie 918 is duplicating the livery on 917-021 as the
Shell Psychedelic (at least it's third racing livery paint job):
It is probable that the 918 owner chose to follow the colors researched by Gunnar Racing for their careful
restoration of the formerly Rosso-Bianco 917 in 'Shell Sandeman' livery.
Although that original livery did not have the psychedelic design, it was painted in the exact same Shell Oil
colors (the 'yellow' has a bit of mustard & the 'red' has a bit of orange) that would adorn the later 'Yellow/Red'
livery #2 on the 917-021. And even the 'red' seats on that historic car are reproduced on this 918 'tribute'! So
all of that makes sense!
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What about the 'Blue-Purple/Green' Hippie 918? How true are those colors to the original historic livery? The
'other' 917-021 painted in this color scheme is apparently in Belgium. From the photos in the 'Classic Driver'
article above the darker hue appears more 'purple' than in the 918 color scheme. We don't know if that car
was available to the 918 owner to request color samples.
But there is another 'psychedelic' 917 (917-043) that resides in Pennsylvania at the Simeone Foundation Automotive
Museum & is more accessible to research for color. It is also painted in a 'Blue-Purple/Green' Martini livery.
So what color scheme was followed by the 918 owner in reproducing the original livery? Did they nailed the colors right?
I think we will need to see that car photographed in different light to see if the 'purple' comes through on the base blue!
If anyone can add more to how the colors of this car were 'chosen', we would appreciate the input.
*******
Altogether, it's a fabulous story of these last, and very special, PTS 918s. And let me leave you all with this video which
attempts to capture the era of the 917-021 which inspired some of our subject matter:
I will say that I not informed about this type of painted option. It was either paint or ****ty stickers on painting. Nothing more. I had waited six months more to receive a hippie Janis Joplin color.
On the other hand you have forgotten the PTS Piëch. Veyron color. Even more sure to **** her cousin.
PTS means "Paint to Sample". In the Porsche world, this translates into any exterior color that the customer orders from the factory from a pre-approved list of colors which are not available through the standard production. There are different levels of up charges for these colors based upon metallic, non-metallic, special treatments (such as the Liquids on the 918). On the secondary market, PTS cars generally sell for significantly higher prices than standard colors do, as an aside.
PTS means "Paint to Sample". In the Porsche world, this translates into any exterior color that the customer orders
from the factory from a pre-approved list of colors which are not available through the standard production. There
are different levels of up charges for these colors based upon metallic, non-metallic, special treatments (such as the
Liquids on the 918). On the secondary market, PTS cars generally sell for significantly higher prices than standard
colors do, as an aside.
Well, actually Secret, it can be more than that. You can choose beyond the 'pre-approved' list and request your own
favorite color! For example, your wife's lipstick gloss (I never get tired of posting this photo!)...
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Or the color of her Manolo Blahnik's...
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Or choose from the Pantone universe of hues the the color you like...
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The color world is your oyster. You need to provide a sample, place an order (usually) and PAG will do a feasibility test
on the color. If approved, it will be done...as long as the PTS window is open. But that is a different subject matter!
09-13-2015, 04:22 AM
The Last of the 918s - the special PTS cars & their stories!
