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What is your preference - red or clear taillights? Does color of the car matter?
I personally think the color of the car matters along with the trim and wheels. I had clear tailights on a Rhodium Silver 991 and it definitely worked well aestetically. Current 991 is dark blue and has red tail lights and I like them....no inclination to swap for clear ones.
I agree that it depends on the color of the car. Clear looks really nice on some colors and not so much on others.
I’ve always liked the alternate tail light choices offered by Porsche. I had the solid red tail light option on my 997.1. I loved the clear option on the 997.2, which actually drove me towards that option on the 991.1. When I first took delivery of my 991.1, I thought I had made a mistake with the clear tail lights. I considered tinting them or possibly even switching to red tail lights. After I switched my front marker lights to clear, things began to gel. I really like the way it looks now and I’m happy that I’ve got clear tail lights. I wouldn’t change them or tint them. It just took a little time to realize that I really like it.
I think clear tail lights look best on dark colored cars, silver/grey cars, and white cars.
I didn't spec my car from new, so I didn't have to make the decision, but when I was choosing the spec for a pre-owned car, tail light colour wasn't one of the things I had a preference for either way. I already had about 20 much more important (to me) specs I was trying to match. As it turned out I bought a white car (not originally one of my preferred colours, but outweighed by the rest of the spec) with clear tail lights, clear front side markers, black (glass) roof, satin platinum grey wheels, black tailpipes, black headlight surrounds, black interior, and privacy glass. So almost the only colour on the car is the Porsche badges (hood, wheel centres, and tyre valve dust caps). I think it looks fantastic and I suspect that red tail lights would have reduced the overall monochrome effect, but I totally get that not everybody would agree. My car also has Porsche puddle lights, which I know some people (Nick Murray) hate.
So yes, I think tail light colour is both a personal preference and something that will change depending on the paint colour. If I was speccing a car from new, I think I'd probably go with clear lights for a light paint colour, dark tint for a dark paint colour, and red for a bright colour. By the way, it seems to me (and this is a totally non-scientific observation) that there is a lot of love for clear front side markers and much less for clear tail lights. Anyone have any thoughts on why people seem to like one and not the other?
To me, it depends on the taillights too. Some “clear” are really more tinted with dark inner portions, and others look crispy clear with silver internals. I don’t want my Porsche looking like an Altezza.
This is why Porsche makes so many different flavors. There’s something for everyone. If you don’t like one particular feature or color, then you can change it. I think it’s similar to the choice of wheel color. I would never buy a car with black wheels, for example. I don’t think it looks good at all. I suppose it’s a bit better on some paint colors than it is on others, but generally I don’t think it looks good on any car. Obviously there are many people who like black wheels on cars because I see them quite often. I view clear tail lights the same way. If you don’t like them, then you don’t like them. There are other options for you.
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