So maybe a silly question but since the data lives here, do we actually know how many GT4s Porsche opted to make and how many are hitting US soil? To the best of my knowledge, we never got official confirmation of production numbers right?

 

We do not know and that is a big part of what I am hoping the database will help determine. As a matter of fact i am always using the database to project the total number of North American GT4's that will ultimately be built. Of course that projection is only as good as the assumptions that drive it. And right now those assumptions are questionable at best.

With all those caveats I am currently estimating there will be total of around 1,700 GT4's built for the US and Canada. If it is true that North America will get half of all GT4's then that would make a total of 3,400.

 

Incredible amount of work here. Thank you for making this all available !

 

and since we don't think you're doing enough already for the rest of us....you're going to start tracking the wrecked ones too, right?????

Hahaha, thanks again for this! I wish there was one on the GT3s as well.

 

I do plan to track wrecked ones as much as possible. I know of two totaled NA GT4's already, However I don't have their VIN's and it turns out asking someone who just totaled their new GT4 for their VIN# is very awkward. So who knows.

Funny you should mention the GT3 db, now that I have created the framework for the database I have been toying with the idea of tracking other "limited" Porsches. I actually spent an hour or so reading the 918 board last night, thinking about putting one of those together. I even punched in a few 918 VIN's jsut to confirm I had the sequence correct, which I do.

 

Can't wait to see my car pop up on the database. I was told that it is in production, currently at the paint stage and is scheduled to leave the factory the second week of March.

I just checked the database and no racing yellows in my spec with a Canadian MSRP yet. Hoping to see it pop up on the DB in the next round of updates.

Thanks gmaki for all your hard work

 

Is there any way of seeing the date of last update?

Wait for allocation, wait for lock, wait to enter production, wait to appear on gmaki's spreadsheet, wait for car to get on boat, wait for car...the wait never ends!

 

LOL. not really no. These days I am pretty much updating it every day though. At least on weekdays. I have sort of made a habit of checking 20 VIN's each day and entering any new ones in.

So you can be fairly confident that your car will show up on the database within a day or two of it being entered into the PCNA database, weekends somewhat excluded.

 

Awesome...owe you a pack of beers when we meet.

 

gmaki, how many vins do you think you are missing? Do you think these cars were actually built? I'm trying to do something for the RS's but don't have the time to enter everything.

I've found some of the 997 RS4.0's and since there was only 600 world wide that would be a great one to have as well.

 

I ordered a GT4 4 weeks ago and the commission number is A73353. Its an April Build Production and a June Delivery

 

So cool. Just saw that my car is in the database. Looks like it's the only one of it's kind with the options I chose. I'm v300 and the car has still not left Emden.

Pretty great. Nice work gmaki.

 

Missing VIN's are probably the biggest problem with the accuracy of the database. If you check the second tab, you will notice that I do actually keep track of missing VIN's, organized by lots of 100. This is actually something that helps me track that I have thoroughly searched that section of numbers.

For example if I am missing 25 VINs from the 191400 sequence I know there is an issue because history tells me I should be missing only 5-9.

And in that sentence is your answer. there are about 5-9 missing VIN's per 100. Or about 7%. Which is a pretty high number.

There is also a large swath of missing VIN's at the very start of production when you consider that the very first VIN I have is 197085. Does that mean there are 84 missing VIN's? or that Porsche started at something other than 197001? I just don't know. My working theory, based on nothing at all is that those cars were crashed for safety tests or used as press and show cars.

But that begs the questions then, do cars that were never sold count as part of the total production, or not?

 

No, a production run is defined as cars that are offered for sale, excluding engineering test cars, crash test cars, press cars, exhibition cars at auto shows, etc, all of which I believe are typically crushed after they've served their purpose to prevent them from getting into the public's hands because they may not be up to final production spec and therefore may be unsafe, non-compliant with regulations, or at the very least difficult or impossible to work on (e.g. not accepting production-spec replacement parts if needed). So for example, Porsche built more than 918 examples of the 918, but they only sold (and numbered) 918 examples. Of course it seems there must be exceptions to that practice of crushing such cars since the GT division has a fleet of cars, and the Porsche Museum has some examples of various models, and I don't believe any of those are from those models' production runs. And sometimes those pre-production examples escape. Among the 16 Porsches that Jerry Seinfeld is about to sell is a prototype Carrera GT.

 

Interesting, and good info. Also interesting you bring up the 918 because I am in the initial stages of putting together a 918 database. I have learned that 918 owners were allowed to pick their own number, (Jerry got #911) and the PCNA VIN will match that number so the order of the VINs tell you nothing.

Then of course if the 918 did not go to the US or Canada it still retains its sequence which take the US VIN out of existence for that number.

But in the end you have the advantage of knowing there were 918 and that is that. So all the missing 918 VINs MUST be in another country.