Tom in Austin

So Erkka, you think Porsche actually batched up production by paint color? Fascinating thought they might taken some other models to the paint booth when they loaded up the raspberry red. Does it logically follow that cars of a given special color would all have similar manufacture dates?

Now I wish I had contacted those guys in Germany for the VIN of that doppelganger ...

Vilhuer

It makes sense from production optimization point of view. Whenever paint color is changed there is downtime at production like to change it and make sure result is not something like black/silver instead of just silver if change was from black to silver. Until recently only some specialty manufacturers like Valmet Automotive in Uusikaupunki Finland which did much of the 986 and 987 production could easily change color to each car they did without having to spend time on the change itself. Stuttgart plant might be able to do it nowdays but AFAIK they couldn't when 928's were made. Major part of the extra cost on L999 paint to sample option was to pay this extra downtime on production line. Fact that 928, 964 and 968 all shared same standard paint options made it much easier for factory to make suitable sized groupings of bodies to be painted at same time. When 924 and 944 were made in Neckarsulm plant they had their own color selections. When last '91 MY 944 S2 were made in Zuffenhousen they used same color choices as '91 MY 928 and 964. To use same colors as Neckarsulm made '91 MY 944's would have meant much more downtime on paint line.