If I could find whoever spec’d this car out, I would give them a firm, but polite, handshake to thank them for bringing this car into the world for all of us to enjoy. This 2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS up for sale in Northwest Germany is finished in none other than paint-to-sample Irish Green, and boy does it look amazing. Even better, the madmen at Manthey Racing put a few little special touches on this.
The winter months are here for some of us, but that won’t stop the seemingly never-ending offerings of Porsche 911s in wild colors. This 2018 Carrera 4S is finished in the slightly lighter hue of Riviera Blue with the matching brake calipers for extra points. Unlike Miami Blue that is an optional color on the 991 generation, Riviera is only reserved for the paint-to-sample program, so that means tack another $7,000 or so to the sticker. Of course, why stop there when it comes to the options, so a $112,000 base price for a Carrera 4S is now $156,970 when it is all said and done with the options. Now just 6,800 miles later, it is up for sale.
If you are going to all-in on bright green, prepare to go all in. The greens that Porsche offered up back in the 1960s and 1970s were not for the shy and judging by the today’s car, it’s still that way. This is a 2017 911 Carrera 4S in paint-to-sample Viper Green and there is certainly no mistaking it. I can see why they called it Viper Green, because in a never-ending sea of cars in earth tones, seeing a car painted this color is like getting bitten by a viper. Okay, maybe that was an extreme comparison, but you get where I am going with this. Judging by the mileage on this car, it seems like the first owner didn’t like to be seen in this one.
Miami Blue is an “all-in” color. Good luck trying to be low key in it. It screams “blue” and does so without looking like you just picked the brightest blue from the vinyl wrap place that just opened up two weeks ago at the abandoned gas station. As the years go on, more and more Porsches are coming in Miami Blue from the factory, including the Macan, so its not like you’ll be on your own out there. So while the exterior color is fine, what about inside the car? Just go with the standard black leather, right? Not so fast on this 2017 911 C2 up for sale in New York.
Another day, another classic Porsche color. This 2018 911 GT3 is finished in the historic color of Gulf Blue. I literally mean historic, as it was the main color the John Wyer-Gulf Oil Porsche 917 race cars that have become legendary not only for their performance on the race track, but the names that own the cars now some 50 years later. It was only offered as a production color on the 911 from 1972-1975 and that has been it until recently put in rotation in Porsche’s paint-to-sample program, which explains how this 991.2 GT3 wears it. Usually anyone who orders a Gulf Blue car starts finding little other things to paint orange, and this is exactly what happened here with orange calipers, rear wing script, and roll bar. However, this GT3 also has another thing that makes it unique, and surely explains why it is so cheap compared to other 991.2 examples.
Fresh off last week’s red car, I bumped into another car that just happened to be a much different shade of red. This 2015 Porsche 911 GT3 is finished in paint-to-sample Arena Red, which technically is a custom color on the 991 GT3, but this isn’t this first time we’ve seen it on a 911. Arena Red was the launch color of the 993 Turbo and featured on the ironic Kills Bugs Fast poster that we all probably had a chuckle over when remembering it. It isn’t a historic color like some of the other paint-to-sample options we’ve seen, but actually more modern as it launched in 1995 on the already mentioned 993, as well as the Boxster and very early 996 cars. Does it fit well on the 991 GT3?
When is a “base” Porsche 911 good enough? The conundrum with the 991.2 911 is that while the base car, a twin-turbo 3.0L, is really good on its own, you have all the other models above it. And there are many. Carrera T, Carrera S, Carrera GTS, GT3, GT3 RS, GT2 RS, Speedster, Turbo, and Turbo S. Suddenly, at least on paper, the base model would seem inadequate. I’m here to tell you it is not. It is very much a pure 911 whether you get the PDK gearbox or the 7-speed manual, and the possibilities you gain by having that twin-turbo 3.0L are about endless in terms of making power. This 2007 up for sale in Texas is a perfect example why.
You know why we are here. If there is a Porsche in a rare or interesting color, I’m taking a peek. Even better if color on the inside is just as cool as the outside. You can probably see where I’m going with today’s car, a 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S up for sale in Ohio. This example is finished in Radium Green, a color first debuted way back on the 356. As cool as this color is, not exactly something that would appear on the option sheet for a new car. Understanding that, I figured this has to be a paint-to-sample car given it is a historical color. Surprisingly, this is the much more expensive option than having Porsche spray the car for $7,500.
The 2016 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS might go down as one of those “special” cars. Well, I guess it already is, but it is more of an end of an era. The 2016 model year was the last of the 991.1 cars before switching to the twin-turbocharge 3.0-liter with the facelift. That means this is the last of the naturally-aspirated 3.8-liter which admittedly has been around for a long time, but for good reason. You pair that with the almost-a-GT car GTS, and you have something special. Go even further and option with with the 7-speed manual and paint-to-sample in Mexico Blue? I’d say this one is “special”.
This 911 sold for $71,500.
I suppose anything can be a daily driver if you are brave enough, but some sports cars literally do offer enough comforts and practically in all areas that they can be used year-round. Case in point, the Porsche 911. I suppose since the start of the 911, you could be okay daily driving one as they aren’t all that harsh, nor unreliable like some of the stuff that came out of Italy in the past few decades. As the generations went on, this became even more or a possibility of it being your only car starting with the 964 chassis and in the introduction to all-wheel drive. Now 20 years later, you have some of the most advanced tech when it comes to car control and the only thing you really need is a set of decent snow tires. Wouldn’t you know, this is exactly what we have today.
This 2014 Carrera S up for sale outside of Chicago doesn’t even need the all-wheel drive of the C4, just a different set of wheels with some dedicated snow tires. Hey, if you can, why not?
