STG

Will do! No story here. Not an Internet creative story teller here! Ha ha. The Aqua Blue is going to be sweet. The best blue they've offered.

What a coincidence though. After all, how many Aqua Blue GT3's were made around that time?

Was there a reason on why PTS was closed off? Time of the year, or were there issues?

dark knight

maybe PTS has more rejected unsaleable parts and by using the different colors, you decrease likelihood of someone placing the flawed part on a regular car? .and they are probably also easier to identify

Z356

I am trying to see how this 'Aqua Blue' gt3 fits into the current dilemma of the discontinued PTS program at PAG. Here are my thoughts on connecting the dots:

Well, that's not what is really funny about his car. We may have actually seen it on this forum parked on the side of Werk II sporting a variety of wrong-colored body parts! That is beyond funny...it's tragic!

https://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3/...y-pts-gt3.html

And this could be our second clue as to why PTS has just been put on hold at PAG (I'll talk about our first clue in one minute). Quality control issues on exterior painted parts needed for final assembly of a gt3 and other models. Remember that outside vendors are supplying complete modules & parts (e.g. bumpers, rear deck w. spoiler) to PAG already painted & ready for the final assembly process at Zuffenhausen. This 'Aqua Blue' gt3 could be the poster child of what is going wrong with PTS at the moment - a breakdown of production & quality controls (incorrect deliveries of 'just-in-time', or below-par 'color matching' of parts, etc).

Our first clue came earlier this summer on this thread:

https://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3/...or-is-off.html

'Front Bumper Color is Off'. That on a 991 gt3 that was not even PTS. Yet the system (whether in-house paint dept or outside vendor of bumper, which is delivered 'painted') was experiencing difficulty matching 'white'!

And some of you might remember what I posted back then:

https://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3/...-is-off-3.html

Finally, we have the case of PeteyDaddy's PTS 'Maritime Blau' paint. A just delivered 991 gt3 that had 'issues' with the paint:

It's a damn shame that this happened on a PTS gt3. If indeed the problem was that the clear coat had not 'cured' before the shipping plastic wrap was applied, it could have happened to any other standard color car. But it did occur to this 'Maritime Blau' car and now Porsche needs to investigate if something specifically related to the PTS (the paint chemistry itself or the base primer, etc) is responsible for the delay in cure time and the warranty cost involved ($5500 reimbursed to owner plus cost of expensive paint 'repair' at dealership...plus PAG could be liable for further paint issues with this car in next 4 years!). When your PTS paint problems reach all the way to Detlev von Platen, PCNA and PAG will take notice. And it could have been the straw that broke the camel's back.

A decision then is made at the highest level of the company: Let's re-evaluate PTS at PAG - how we do it, who does it, how much problems it's causing, what is our true costs & profits (if any), what are our extra liabilities & warranty costs, what improvements can we make to our program, including better coordination with our vendors & improved logistics for arrival at assembly as 'needed' - and then decide if we should continue to offer it with the new MY2016.

Dots connected...perhaps.

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

.

Tpup

Ok. You guys are freaking me out. I'm the PTS Aqua Blue GT3 guy... I hope it's not a mess...

Z356

Don't worry. If all else fails - including a call to Detlev or a visit to Earl Scheib Auto Paint - there is always the vinyl wrap alternative. That is why '3M' invented it! Get creative...

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

By the way, you demonstrated excellent taste in choosing that 'Aqua Blau' color for your gt3!

.

dark knight

dude, don't be freaked out be happy, all the photo shows is that Porsche completed you car before the plastic parts were ready and to get it to you ASAP they installed some placeholder parts, thats all no problems. You now have something nobody is able to get, pictures of your car at the factory. they don't allow pictures in the factory, it was there for less than a day and probably moved to the exclusive workshop, then they installed the PTS parts a little bit later. Nobody gets to see their car being built except for 918 customers, you've got pictures of the process….thats awesome!

<3mph

^Silver lining for sure! Actually, the way I see it there probably isn't a cloud in the first place, Tpup. I agree with DarkKnight that this is totally cool for you! And maybe a little for me too, since I think the side mirrors might have been my (reject?) fashion grey parts!

And Eduardo, that is a very plausible theory. All in all, a very interesting turn of events.

Tpup

Thanks for the comments.

Does anyone know the source of these photos? The ones here have no metadata in them regarding the date they were taken (that I can find). My car was V300 on 10/29 and was in Emden on 10/31.

I would love to talk to the source if anyone knows who took those shots to see if I can get an original file e-mailed. In addition I think I'll e-mail my contact at Porsche and ask what this car is... Not very excited about taking delivery of a car that was assembled and then taken apart and reassembled...

Jamie140

I'm too lazy to do it, but if you read through this thread from the start, I think the chap who took the pics posted.

<3mph

Tpup: yeah, contact DarkKnight, who has been posting the images, including the high res version of the door handle and the 2nd angle. I'm sure there will be quite a few eager customers if you decline the car, but it's probably not a big deal to take the few panels off and replace. Apparently this happens sometimes (see Eduardo's comments), and the work is all done at the factory, so it's perfect like every other car. IMO, it's not a big deal, but you're of course entitled to do what you please.

Tpup

Hello Dark Knight,

I just re-read the thread and figured out you took the pic on or about 10/26. Here's the data on my car:

Vehicle into body shop: planned - 10/17 Actual 10/16
Exit Production: planned - 10/24 Actual 10/29

So it was planned to take 1 week but took 13 days. I have not heard of another Aqua GT3 so I guess that is mine. I would LOVE to have any and all of the pics you took. I'll PM you my e-mail address. The largest format you have would be great!!

I have ordered PTS before with no issues but I guess that was back when they painted all parts at the same time at the factory. Car should be in soon; I'll post detailed pics if it passes my inspection (which will now be a bit more thorough...).

CAlexio

Probably the best thread on Rennlist I have read. Incredible crowd-sleuthing work (led by Eduardo with his "connect the dots" post, and the amazing result of helping an owner locate pics of what is surely the most unusual gt3 situation ever.

Can someone please ask ab whether to get front lift now, I'm in withdrawal.

doubleurx

Well, on the bright side, at least it's just body parts, and not something like an engine.............

dark knight

I'll send them later today, but you need to keep in mind this is a positive not a negative and appears to be SOP for PTS, they pics are pretty large, taken with my Nikon D810, remember any data from my camera is off by 7 hrs as the time is set for US central time. I'm sure everyone is envious as you are probably the only person out there with a picture of your car in progress. Also keep in mind that the plastic parts should not match the body exactly, the plastic parts are painted separately (in another country back when I bought my 993) the paint also has a flex agent in it so it is different. If you see any plastic parts that match exactly on a modern 911 that is a sign it has been repainted after an accident, from the factory none should match perfectly. Look at any 911 and you will see this. Please don't use these photos to criticize the PTS system, it can only lead to its demise and I don't want to see that. I looked for the car the next day and it was gone, so exclusive or the area where they do adjustments in the first floor of the factory hand fitted your other painted parts later. The plastic parts are kind of plug and play, theres no need to worry, they do this kind of thing all the time. If you go to the factory the ground floor has an area where they do these things, its where they did GT3 motor swaps, Ive never gotten to see this area, earlier this year it was dark and rainy, i was able to see a little in there (it has mirror window tints) there were a number of cabrios getting roofs adjusted, the pcis now show us all a little bit more "behind the curtain" and explain the cost of PTS

dark knight

hahaahahahahh!