Porsche colors never fail to make a grand statement. Guards Red, Racing Yellow, and Carrara White Metallic—these are just a handful of the popular color designations from the Porsche Car Configurator.
Now, a magnificently rich green has been added to the palette.
Starting in March 2023, the exterior color Essmanngreen, color code 24C, will be available through the Car Configurator for customers of the 911, 718, and Taycan model lines as part of the model year R Paint to Sample range—and there’s a historic aspect about this newest color. For the first time, Porsche has named a Paint to Sample Plus color after a Porsche enthusiast.
Meet Michael Essmann
Michael Essmann is a long-time Porsche fan and Managing Director of the family firm Elektro Essmann. He got his very first Porsche in 1978, a 911 SC. Painted in Opal Metallic, Essmann graduated from the Sport Driving School with this car. Later on, he had the idea of using their family business’ color for his private cars, as well. “Every time I pick up a new Porsche in this very special color, it’s a great feeling,” he shared.
In 1992, Essmann’s 911 Carrera RS 3.6 (964) was painted in the trademark color of the master workshop for electrical installations and photovoltaic systems, becoming the first Porsche model to get an Essmanngreen paintwork. Following that was a 911 GT3 RS 4.0 (997) and then a 911 GT3 Touring (992). His sons, Mike and Stefan Essmann, successfully competed in the Porsche Sports Cup, driving racing cars that also showcase Essmanngreen accents on the bodywork.
Additional touches of personalization of his 911 GT3 Touring include a Porsche logo on the side that is based on the Porsche Heritage Design models, customized interior seats with inspiration from the 964 RS feature seat centers, and red "touring" logos are embroidered into the back of the headrests of full bucket seats. Red is a contrasting color used by Elektro Essmann so it works with the theme as a whole.
Perfect Color Matching for Ideal Personalization
As a standard thirty years ago, the rich green Custom Color of the 964 was mixed in the After Sales painting. Today, the current Essmann Porsche takes advantage from a more professional range of special exterior colors. A new color-mixing bench is now in use at the main plant in Zuffenhausen, where paint experts mix dozens of ingredients down to the last milligram to get the right color. The Essmanngreen recipe has more than 100 ingredients.
Each batch is split into two paint pots, one for bodywork and the other for extra parts. Several components of this paint mixture call for slightly varying paint compositions due to the wide range of materials, application techniques, and drying temperatures. A test body and "batch comparison plates" are painted and used to check the car's color before it is finally approved.
170 More Colors to Choose From For All Model Series
For the most individualized colors, Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur offers "Paint to Sample Plus," which gives nearly unlimited flexibility in choosing the paintwork based on a customer-submitted color sample. This is how Michael Essmann's 911 GT3 Touring got the distinctive Essmanngreen hue. Once it received technical approval, Porsche's paint specialists included the shade in the "Paint to Sample" software. The Porsche Vehicle Configurator now offers Essmanngreen as a color option for anyone who is interested. This process began with Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur painting a brand-new 911 GT3 RS (992) in this hue for display.
Porsche has reorganized and expanded its color offerings—with about 170 more colors to choose from across all model series, to make your very own personality shine through your Porsche.
Categories:
News