Originally Posted by NRBRNG

Very happy that my wait is over and of course Porsche delivering on some phenomenal engineering and evolution from the .1!
Like many, I have had frustrations with the process of getting to this point and the relative lack of transparency, consistency and quite frankly commercial sense that many of us experience or should expect of this brand.

I put my name down 20 months ago and was #4 on the list. True to their word I got the call in early April about 2 weeks after the car was announced for a mid Sept (PDK) delivery, so Q3 production. Then the color decisions…
I was coming from a 2016 .1 in GT Silver and loved it. I couldn’t decide…GT Silver again? Chalk looks cool- but it’s not Nardo or Grigio Telesto or Sport Classic Grey. Plus, is it a grey/ blue or a grey/brown? Hmm, Miami Blue looks cool- but it’s not Mexico, Voodoo, or Riveria…plus is it blue or turquoise and blue?…Graphite Blue Metallic? Hmm, it’s not Slate Grey, plus is it a grey or a blue? All great colors- as I am learning now from recent posts here-but at the time without seeing them on this car my eyes interpreted them all differently.

Then the realization that PTS was the only route to solve my indecision! First pass was the dealership. Clearly, them really finding out for me was too much to ask…Then Andre (Montoya) and I were having lunch and discussing how the PTS lottery ‘might’ appear to work. We contacted Yana in Atlanta and she was great; ’most likely only chance is in our Q4/Q1 window’. Went back to my SA to see if we can give someone else an early gift of my then still unlocked allocation and then I’d wait out and get on their next quarter allocation. Again, it appeared to be too much trouble for them to help out…
I think Andre set up his excellent PTS process visibility, education and recording on here as he saw how my situation played out- and listened to my winning and was potentially headed there himself! So, I was out of options and locked my car as the then unseen Chalk and waited for September
Like most others here, we all learned of a one month delay on all N America cars, so now mid October. I learned this from this community- not my SA. We got to early September (after I sold him my ’16) and contacted him to ask for latest updates; ‘Oh, it’s not arriving until Dec 22nd now. I asked for the commission number build sheet. My car went into body shop on 7/15 and came out on 10/13…3 months!!! Most GT cars- even ones that were in the same window- are in the body shop for 5-7 days. Yes, there was the factory holiday shut down but my car should have left before that… No rational, no reason, no explanation.Nothing. (The 3 other local cars all delivered here in the NW from late October).

So in summary, an overall frustrating car buying and brand experience. Trust me, I know (and work) the value of brand building and demand management linked to, amongst other things, product scarcity…and this is not how it should be done.

OK. That was not a spoilt brat rant! More of just context as to my journey here

I love the car. Only had it 6 days. The external design changes, especially the front end are really strong. What blew me away is how smooth and quiet the engine is relative to the .1. Like many have opined here its just different not hearing the mechanical noises clunking away. I think I actually liked the previous rawness. Granted, I only have 90 miles on it due to prep time and bad weather here and will follow a graduated break-in up to about 1200 miles so haven’t heard past 4K yet. It also feels more compliant with steering and ride on the road- and I thought the .1 was!

I asked my dealer to deliver it unwashed and no detail as I wanted to see the paint quality and determine what level of correction, if any was needed.
Generally, it wasn’t too bad except for some weird physical/mechanically made patterns here and there in the clear coat. Almost long meandering waving lines with narrow etches in them. They were not circular from a buffer or anything and didn’t show up on camera, but really obvious under my garage lights. Curious if any others have seen these or the detailer folks on here can shed any light.
My process: Power wash, wash, Iron fallout prep, chemical paint prep, clay, machine correction, finishing sealant. TBH, there was not that much iron reaction from the fallout prep so I’d likely skip that. I always start with the mildest correction product. I had to go to most ‘extreme' one to get rid of these weird lines. Having said that, I do use Griott’s and their fast correction crème which is really easy to use and is not that severe so that I could screw it up. Love their products. The result was fantastic. My PPF installer even commented how great the paint was and had not seen such great paint for a long time (and he does all of the dealers’ PPF). Very happy with my 12-15 hours of prep! My PPF installer did an unbelievably good job with Suntek Ultra. We did the full front, wings, hood, rockers and rear wheel arches etc. Tint was 55%.

I know stripes somewhat polarize folks here and especially the 911R ones. I personally really like the R stripes (on the R) and therefore like them on 911 GT cars. I have managed to convince (at least myself) that they don’t necessarily belong exclusively to the R. in addition, I wanted something to complement and accentuate the Chalk color and yes, perhaps make it a bit more ‘shouty’ with the contrasts. These went on really easily, although I did screw-up the first one on the roof and will likely look to replace it. I also have the side door PORSCHE block script decals and might leave them off. Not sure yet…?The stripe kit was from K1 Studios and they were great to deal with.

Next up is putting it back on the lift on putting my Shark Werks bypass from the .1 on. Cage and harnesses to follow.
Is it me or do these .2 bucket seats feel more ‘generous’ and less snug than those in the.1? I know I haven’t been cycling as much as Mooty… but I also haven’t lost any timber Anyone else thought/noticed this?

So, back to color. It’s amazing how Chalk changes in various light conditions and of course how your eye sees it and therefore brain interprets it. Photo’s also really don’t capture it consistently and I’m sure I just added to that! It really does look Grey most of the time, then Grey/yellow/tan sometimes and then almost white in various lights. I really like my paint color choice and am very happy with the somewhat unique characteristics of it.

Can’t wait to get out and drive this thing once the Oregon cloud eclipse moves away… in about May.
Enjoy your cars and family wherever you are!

Cheers, Mark