In the April 2001 issue of Excellence, there was a test comparing 5 turbos with Kevin Buckler and Danny Sullivan doing the driving. One of the turbos was a 1997 White Turbo S and had the optional black painted inner portion of the Technology wheels.

Was this in fact a factory option? Was it only available on the Turbo S? Anyone have any good pictures of these wheels (closeups) as I am thinking about duplicating them. Thanks.

 

The only wheel painting option on the 993 was:

XD9 - Painted rims to match exterior paint - $1311.

I am not too sure if this was available on the Turbo S as well but Porsche most likely would have done it upon request.

 

On page 74 & 74 of the April 2001 Excellence magazine, there is a picture of the wheels I am referring to. A caption on pg 74 says "This 1997 911 Turbo S left the factory with the optional black-center alloy wheels, which were a stunning combination with its bright white exterior paint." So...are the staff at Excellence incorrect in their description of these wheels?

 

Sorry, typo: make that page 74 & 75.

 

[quote]Originally posted by Patrick Kennedy:
<strong>So...are the staff at Excellence incorrect in their description of these wheels?</strong><hr></blockquote>

There have been many instances where people did something to their cars which was later thought as a factory option. I can't say if the magazine is incorrect or not but all I know is that the factory option did not include a deviating color. As far as I know, you could only specify body color but for $150,000-plus, I am pretty sure someone could order a different color on the wheels. The person who would actually know best is the one who ordered the car straight from the beginning.

 

I scanned the picture above from the Porsche catalog titled "Exclusive & Tequipment". The wheels, like the body color, can be painted by the factory using any color specified by the client. I have heard that some buyers even sent nail polish that they like to the factory to match the color for their cars!

 

Thanks, that's awesome.

 

There was a white 993TT on ebay a while back with white-painted center "technology" wheels, which were described as being a factory option.

 

Patrick,

The painted wheels were an option and they were available for cars other than the Turbo S. I've got a '97 C4S in Grand Prix White and the car has the 18" Technology wheels to match the body color. Like Viken said, about $1311 for the option.

The factory rims has the entire center section painted to match the car's color. The outer rim around the wheel (as in the previous poster's picture) is actually the stock Porsche silver that comes standard on all the wheels. It's basically a two-tone colored wheel. For my GP White, it's a pretty good wheel/car color combination, but it's a pain to care for and once it scratches, the paint can start to peel (pretty thick factory paint though, almost like a thin sheet of plastic, don't ask me how I know).

Refinishing the wheels is almost as much as the original option cost, being two-toned and such. A lot of places don't know how to do the two-toned correctly and just do the whole wheel a single color; dead give-away that it's not a factory option.

BTW, Porsche doesn't make those wheels anymore. Can't go to a dealer and order the sets.

Hope that helps.

*****