Z356

This thread's purpose is to shed some light into the sometimes opaque world of 'Porsche Exclusive'. And to disseminate some of information I have gained from past Porsche ordering experiences and current research into custom ordering a 991. I hope that others join in and share their ordering experiences so that we can establish a well documented thread that is helpful to others that are contemplating custom ordering their cars. In general, Americans rarely custom order a Porsche. Most just buy what dealers have ordered, which are often 'safe' choices that appeals to an 'average' buyer. It's no wonder that so many 991's are spec'ed pretty much the same in so many regional markets. 'Porsche Exclusive', if used wisely, opens up a whole new world of personalization for you & your car which is relatively rare to find today in the mass-production automotive industry. Mercedes and BMW offers no equivalent program in the US. Only 'Audi Exclusive' offers something similar.

The many different choices available through 'Porsche Exclusive' sometimes can overwhelm the 'average' Porsche customer. And few dealers have experienced sales staff that knows the inside/out of custom ordering a car and the intricacies of 'Porsche Exclusive'. So YOU will have to do your own homework and research before you can successfully master this complex ordering system. I hope this thread lifts the veil on some of the custom ordering process at Porsche and helps some of you achieve the perfect 991 spec! I am not affiliated with PAG, PCNA or any dealer, so all of this is being done is the spirit of 'Liebe Zu Ihm'.

I will initially touch on the following topics:

1) Paint to Sample
2) Leather interior choices
3) Deviating Stitching
4) Leather to Sample
4) Wheels in deviating colors
5) Special Requests not found in Configurator
6) New options about to be announced

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1) Paint to Sample

Timing: Available for a limited time window during the model year. Opens and closes depending on series production scheduling. In the initial limited period of MY2012 991, it was open briefly then closed as MY2013 production was about to start. Now it appears to be open again for MY2013 991. Could close on the MY2013 991 sometime in the late Fall or early Winter of 2012, but apparently nothing yet has been communicated to dealers. Seems like the factory likes to bunch up PTS requests in batches and tries to do them all in a row. If you know something about the complicated process of auto painting technology, you probably will understand why! So always check that the window for PTS is open so that you are not disappointed by being shut out due to the factory 'fickle' PTS scheduling!

Cost: Currently $5,500.

Colors Available: Any...as long as it passes a very strict and severe test conducted by PAG in Zuffenhausen with the assistance of their current paint supplier - Dupont. Some colors that are deemed proprietary to a model (e.g. Speedster Blue or Sport Classic Grey) are often 'off-limits'. Some that are registered trade-marks of corporations (e.g. Gulf colors) might also be currently prohibited. Overall, what Porsche is looking to do is limit customer complaints that might trigger costly warranty claims and consumer dissatisfaction of mis-matched colors on any part of the vehicle. Since the materials now used in cars involve steel, plastic, carbon fiber, etc, it is important that colors don't fade at a different rate on the varied surfaces of a modern Porsche!

The process of determining suitability could take weeks or months. It only starts after you place the order with your dealer and it sends an actual 'sample' metal piece painted (minimum size of a business letter) with your desired PTS color to the factory in Germany. So this 'Paint to Sample' process is not for those that are in a hurry in getting their 991's or are easily upset by a possible rejection of your color selection! But perseverance will reward your efforts with a fairly rare, or even unique, color on your special vehicle!

To their credit, PCNA has actually issued a document on 6/4/2012 which told dealers of PTS colors that they have already tested and pre-approved. This is a tremendous advantage for those of you willing to select one of those pre-approved colors because you don't have to submit color 'samples' and wait in limbo! It means you quickly pass 'Go' and your car can be quickly scheduled for production!

Among the PTS colors pre-approved as of 6/4/2012 are:

Mexico Blue
Riviera Blue
RS Green
Pastell Orange (German Spelling)
Aetna Blue (misspelled in List as Etna)
Stone Grey
Fashion Grey
Grey Black
Arena Red
Brewster Green
Arctic Silver

Among the PTS colors officially rejected and 'Not Available' are:
Aquamarine Blue Metallic
Atlas Grey Metallic
Slate Metallic
RS Orange (from personal experience)

Among the PTS under 'Feasibility Check Started' are:
Gulf Blue (don't bet on being approved!)
Gulf Orange (don't bet on being approved!)
Carrara White
Horizon Blue Metallic
Ipanema Blue Metallic
Peru Red
Sepia Brown
Maritime Blue
Meteor Grey Metallic
Voodoo Blue
Polar Silver Metallic

Among the colors under 'Feasibility Check Necessary' are:
Guards Red
Speed Yellow
GTS Red
Azzurro California Metallic
and countless others!

That is enough to digest on the first day!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Vail Valley, Colorado

evio

great input please finish the whole process, very interesting

Mike in CA

Very nice, Eduardo! Looking forward to the rest of your posts on PE. The PTS document you reference obviously must be applicable to all Porsche models, not just the 991. For example, Guards Red is a standard 991 and Boxster color but is shown as a "Feasibility Check Necessary" choice, presumably for a Cayenne or Panamera, where it is not normally available. Anyway, thanks for your very informative post.

Z356

Yes, there are some things confusing on that list. On Guards Red, it is marked as a 'Feasibility' for the 991 and 981 as you can read on the attached document. Which doesn't make sense since we know it's being offered. Also look where they put 'Carrara White'. To my knowledge, the current shade of 'white' in the 991/981 should be 'Carrara' but the configurator just states 'White' and they put 'Carrara' as just a feasible PTS color. Agate Grey Metallic was also listed as 'Approved' for PTS, duh!

Saludos,
Eduardo

Galion

Thanks for the info.
My dealer told me that Carrara White is no longer avaliable, The new white for the 991 is a cooler, bluish, Washer/dryer white also offered in the Cayenne since MY 2012, its almost like the Audi "super" white color.
Carrera white is darker with a hint of gray in it, looks much better than the new white IMO.

keithos27

+1,000,000

Rapture1

I absolutely loved the color on my Audi RS4, it was special ordered for that car in Lava Gray which really had some depth. I would consider this for a 991 if I were to order one to really make it unique as I'm not truly in love with the current offerings. I think it would look fantastic on the 991 with all of its curves. I was told though by my local dealer that it is a very difficult process to custom order a color and as has been stated, colors are turned down. I would be hopeful as it is "in the family" but not sure I'm up to the challenge.

Z356

OK, for my next post on this thread, perhaps we can make a bit of internet news! I will reveal the photos of the new 'AMBER ORANGE' leather interior color scheduled now for production on the 981 (and perhaps optional in the 991 in the future?) soon to hit our shores! See attached photos below. I have yet to see a finished car done with this interior. If any of you have, please provide us with a link!

The name 'Amber Orange' is a bit deceiving. I would consider it almost a member of the 'brown' family of colors, just brighter but with a decidedly hint of an 'orangy' overtone! This will be available for the 981 in what the configurator calls a 'two-tone' color combination, in conjunction only with 'Agate Grey' leather. PAG calls this type of offering a 'Leder Bicolor' and it translates to English as 'Leather bicolor'. More importantly, this BiColor combination will sport a very significant 'orange' deviating color stitching on the 'Agate Grey' leather dash and top door panels which will be very striking and noticeable! I urge you all to go to the PCNA website and 'built your own' 981 in this color combination with 3D! It is absolutely stunning!

It is also very reasonably priced and includes the extra deviating stitching (normally over $1000 of extra costs if ordered 'a la carte'). I will talk more about all the 'two-tone' interior combinations in an upcoming post on this thread. To me, these 'Bicolors' are the most interesting offerings currently available from Porsche on the new 981 and 991 models! The trick is to match them correctly to an exterior color! But for today, I wanted all of you to see for yourselves what 'Amber Orange' looks like!

Although this new 'Amber Orange' color is initially offered only on the 981, I believe that this leather color MIGHT be available for mix & match into panels in the 991, but only by special request! And perhaps a similar 'BiColor Leder' option with 'Agate Grey' leather may be offered on the 991 in the future. That is why I am also posting this information on these 991 forums so you are aware of this 'new' leather color choice from Porsche.

I took these pictures at the Salt Lake City PCA Parade which just concluded less than two weeks ago! They were graciously shown to me by Sascha Glaeser who is 'Manager, Customer Consultation', for 'Porsche Exclusive' in the US. A few preliminary words about Sascha Glaeser. He is based in Los Angeles. His assistant, Melissa Witek, is based in New York. In future posts, I will describe in greater detail all the good work they are both doing to liven up our cars via the exquisite offerings of 'Porsche Exclusive'! PAG has assigned Sascha to the US after working for 'Porsche Exclusive' in Germany. 'Beautiful Melissa', as I like to call her, was hired here in the States. They work with both US dealers and individuals to educate them on the various possibilities open to North American customers of Porsche via 'Porsche Exclusive'. I hope the information on my thread will make all of you better informed so that when you finally talk to either Sascha or Melissa on your prospective orders and make those conversations more productive!

I personally want to thank Sascha for all the time he spent with me in Salt Lake City (and previously helping me with my custom ordered Aqua Blue/Carrera Red MY2012 Spyder). Without his help, I would have very little to share with you on this forum!

Porsche Cars North America
Customer Consultation Center
236 N. Rodeo Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
E-Mail: CustomerConsultations@porsche.us

Customer Consultation Center Business Hours: By Appointment Only

Mr. Sascha Glaeser - Manager, Customer Consultation
Ms. Melissa Witek - Customer Consultation Specialist

Saludos,
Eduardo
Vail Valley, Colorado

rijowysock

i would love an agate grey exterior w/ full orange interior.. friend of mine has a lambo with same combo and looks phenomenal.

GreenLantern

Super helpful thread. Thanks for sharing, and please do keep us posted!

fer2367

what about the newly announced powerkit? is there a price for that in the US market?

thanks,

Z356

I don't know about that, fer! I am having a hard enough time keeping current on what its happening with these d*mn leather interiors!

Saludos,
Eduardo

Z356

2) Leather Interior Choices - Part 1

First, let's talk about what leathers Porsche offers. You will note that in the Configurator, they give you the following options:

a)Standard color
b)Special Leather
c)Two Tone
d)Natural/Special leather
e)Custom Colors

It seems for sure that the only 'Natural' leathers offered, on the face of it, are 'Carrera Red' and 'Espresso'. So what are the 'un-natural' leathers being offered to us by Porsche?

Over at the 6speed forum, member 'jmmk' recently gave us a very interesting tutorial which might help explain things better for us. "Leather is a starting point for a car manufacturer. With the base leather, the leather is stretched and the outer layer is sanded off and a new grain is embossed into it to make it more uniform. This increases the porosity of the leather when the outside is sanded off and it accepts color better. However, it doesn't hold up as well unless a sealer is applied. So the "leather" interior is considerably changed from its natural state. It is now thinner, uniform in both grain and color, and sealed against UV and infrared damage from the sun, making it suitable for an automobile use. Since it is stretched thinner you don't notice that it is slightly stiffer. It could be dark black or dark grey according to what the designer wanted. Full leather has nothing to do with what kind of leather is used, although the designer might specify a better grade if their research indicates the consumer expects it with the cost upgrade.

Natural leather is not stretched. It is natural thickness and has the natural grain still intact. It is tumble dyed in large drums that constantly roll and knead it to get it to accept the color. This softens it much like you would soften a dry chamois by kneading it. It retains the natural, saddle-like leather smell without adding synthetic aromas. The comfort, if you took the time to compare it, is obvious to the educated rear end. Even though less is done to cure leather this way, it is still more expensive since you get fewer square feet of leather out of a hide. The UV and infrared sealants are introduced into the leather while it is tumbling in the dye soaked drums and like the dye, is soaked all the way through the leather rather than added with the sealant.

Additional leather options in a Porsche, beyond the full leather option, show the skill and technology that Porsche craftsmen are capable of. For leather air conditioner vents, the leather is stretched almost paper thin to cover the plastic vanes of the outlet. Also, the match between what is leather and what is similar to leather is outstanding by automobile standards."

Over the years we have also heard the term 'aniline leather' to signified what is referred to by 'jmmk' and Porsche as 'Natural'. Wikipedia describes it as "Aniline leather is a type of leather dyed exclusively with soluble dyes without covering the surface with a topcoat paint or insoluble pigments. The resulting product retains the hide's natural surface with the 'grain', i.e. visible pores, scars etc. of the complete original animal's skin structure. Originally, the dyes used for this process were synthesized from aniline through chemical reactions. These dyes used to be called 'aniline dyes' or 'tar dyes'. In modern times, the dyes used are subject to laws and regulations in many countries, and the use of certain azo compounds is prohibited as there are reasons to assume health risks. Typically, leather is dyed both for aesthetic reasons and to conceal blemishes. The dye colours leather without producing the uniform surface of pigmented leather. Any visible variations on the surface of the undyed leather such as natural blemishes will remain visible. There are different kinds of aniline leather, but the same kinds of dyes are used in the process. The dyes used are clear and transparent chemicals that allow the grain structure of the leather to be seen. These dyes show the natural texture, but do not protect the leather from damage. Aniline leather may be referred to as full aniline or full sauvage leather to differentiate between this dye treatment and variants. Semi-aniline leather is produced through a very similar process to full-aniline, but has a thin protective top coat added to protect it from wear and staining. Pull up aniline leather has additional oil or wax applied to the leather to give it a distressed look'.

So it seems that the 'standard' leather offerings from Porsche are not 'natural', or 'aniline', or even 'semi-aniline'. These 'base' leathers on the 991 include the colors 'Black', 'Platinum Grey', 'Yachting Blue' and 'Luxor Beige'. Also not 'Natural' are these other offerings: a) 'Special Leathers' in the colors 'Umber' and 'Agate Grey'; and b)Two-Tone (BiColor) 'Agate Grey/Pebble Grey' and 'Black/Platinum Grey'! Only 'Carrera Red' and 'Espresso' fit into this 'premium' or 'exclusive' Natural / 'aniline' leather designation!

I believe that 'Custom Colors', which from now on I will simply call 'Leather to Sample', can be had in either 'base' leather (if particularly colorful) or in 'Natural', if that particular leather grade is available in the color you desire. 'Leather to Sample' is a seldom selected option here in the US. It is more common to markets like the Middle East/Gulf States. I will make it my business in the next few months to inquire more on this subject. Personally, I find the standard 'black' in the base leather as offered by Porsche not to be particularly desirable. So I would like to know if they can provide us in 'Leather to Sample' a deeper 'Black' leather in 'Natural' upscale grade that will be darker in color & richer than the standard 'Black' offered. Others have commented that the new standard 'black' seems to be a bit more 'charcoal' this year than they remember in the recent 997.1 and 997.2 models. I am also fascinated by the previous model's offering of 'Natural Brown' leather, which was a beautiful color and of great quality! More about this when I talk about 'Leather to Sample' on a future post on this thread.

Note that the leather colors for the new 991 are almost all new to the 911 model range. The only true carry over is 'Carrera Red' Natural leather. I believe that the base black is slightly more 'charcoal' than in the outgoing 997, but I could be wrong. 'Agate Grey', 'Platinum Grey', 'Yachting Blue' and 'Umber' are totally new offerings (one at least came from the Cayenne)! 'Luxor Beige' has apparently replaced 'Sand Beige', 'Umber' replaced 'Cocoa'* and 'Espresso' Natural replaced 'Natural Brown'. Too bad this last one was not kept! The Dual-Tones (BiColor) are all new to the range. Note they are not 'Natural' leathers! Some have wondered why a Dual-Tone (BiColor) 'Black/Carrera Red' is not yet offered. I don't know the answer but note there is a mismatch of grade quality given the 'standard' black with the 'natural' Carrera Red. Perhaps that is one of the reasons it is not yet offered! There is the possibility of mix & matching via other 'Porsche Exclusive' options, and we will talk about that on another day.

Colors of leather fall within the range of personal taste. I will not comment on that subject, but I will explain in greater detail the new 'BiColors' in my next post. I think these BiColors are some of the most interesting offerings yet from Porsche and deserve particular attention as to what they offer.

Leather grade is not a matter of personal taste but of your budget! When all possible, order the highest grade of 'Natural' or 'Aniline' leather you can afford! I voted with my wallet. I ordered 'Carrera Red' Natural leather on my Aqua Blue Metallic Spyder. I think it's a beautiful and striking interior which has kept to this day some of its original leather aroma! The quality of that 'Natural' leather is excellent and highly recommended. I am also lucky to have a rare Porsche factory leather interior on my well preserved 'Crystal Blue' 1970 911E Targa. That 'full' leather interior - door, front & rear seats, rear back and side panels - still smells like leather some 42 years later on my particular 55K original mile vehicle!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Vail Valley, CO

*Thanks for the clarification, 'Mike in Ca'

keithos27

Awesome as usual! I'm wondering if we do "leather to sample" in black to get black in a "natural leather" quality, will that apply to everywhere I'm the car? And if we also go for additional leather areas (dash, foot sills, etc.) will they be of the same quality!?!?

Z356

I would hope so! First we have to find out if they will allow anyone to order a truer & richer 'Black' in 'Leather to Sample'. If so, everything else made of leather in that interior should be done in that grade & color. For example, all of the extra options I ordered on my Spyder's 'Carrera Red' interior came in that color and grade of leather!

I will be pursuing this question with 'Porsche Exclusive' on my next meeting with them, probably during the 'Historics' week coming up in Carmel/Monterey area in approx. two weeks!

Saludos,
Eduardo