The Washington Inquirer EditorGuards Red, Racing Yellow, Carrara White Metallic – just a few of the familiar names for colours from the Porsche Car Configurator. Now a brilliantly rich green will join the palette. Michael Essmann, a long-standing Porsche lover and Managing Director of family business Elektro Essmann, has had his very own individual colour made within the scope of the Paint to Sample Plus range. As part of the model year R Paint to Sample range, starting in March 2023 the exterior colour Essmanngreen, colour code 24C, will also be available through the Car Configurator for customers of the 911, 718 and Taycan model lines.
As far back as 1992, Michael Essmann had a 911 Carrera RS 3.6 (964) painted in the company colour of the master workshop for electrical installations and photovoltaic systems – the first Porsche model in Essmanngreen. Other cars followed, including a 911 GT3 RS 4.0 (997) and most recently a 911 GT3 Touring (992). Sons Mike and Stefan Essmann compete successfully in the Porsche Sports Cup, with racing cars naturally, these also displaying Essmanngreen accents on the bodies.
“My very first Porsche was a 911 SC in 1978 with which I also graduated from the Sport Driving School,” recalls Michael Essmann. “It was painted Opal Metallic. It was only later that I had the idea of using the colour of our family business for my private cars too. But every time I pick up a new Porsche in this very special colour it’s a great feeling. And to know that I’m the originator of this colour named after me.”
Highest quality and perfect colour matching
While the Custom Colour of the 964 was blended in the After Sales painting process that was standard at the time 30 years ago, the current Essmann Porsche benefits from Porsche professionalising the range of special exterior colours in 2021 and significantly expanding its capacity. A new colour-mixing bench has been put into operation at the main plant in Zuffenhausen, where paint specialists blend several dozen ingredients down to the last milligram to achieve the desired shade. When the binding agents and additives are included, the recipe for Essmanngreen contains over 100 ingredients.
Each batch is divided into two paint pots for bodywork and add-on parts. The areas to be painted on the vehicle consist largely of aluminium, plastics and carbon/fibreglass composites. This mix of materials and the different application methods and drying temperatures require slightly different paint compositions, depending on the component. A test body and so-called batch comparison plates are painted and used as a colour reference for the final acceptance of the car.
These completely new processes designed for high quality with the combination of craftsmanship and industrialisation required the re-development, testing and approval of all colours, some of which had already been used successfully in the past in the old paint shop. This is why it was necessary to develop a paint recipe for Essmanngreen on Type 992 because it was last used successfully in the old paint shop for Type 997.
“Unusual paint finishes are part of the history of our brand and are an important differentiating feature,” says Alexander Fabig, Head of Individualisation and Classic. “The intelligent combination of the production process and its industrialisation is unique. Our customers thus enjoy a very wide range of available colours and many custom paint finishes that meet the highest standards. Every colour must be deemed suitable for many different surfaces and materials – perfect colour matching is what is wanted.”
170 additional colours across all model series
Porsche has extended its colour range while simultaneously restructuring it. “Paint to Sample” used to be known as “Custom Colour”. This category includes predefined colours that have already been technically approved by the paint specialists at Porsche.
For especially individual colour requests, Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur goes a step further: “Paint to Sample Plus” allows almost complete freedom in selecting the paintwork based on a sample submitted by the customer. Thus, the Essmanngreen colour on Michael Essmann’s 911 GT3 Touring was first created as a “Paint to Sample Plus”. After technical approval, the Porsche paint specialists then added the colour to the “Paint to Sample” programme. There, Essmanngreen can now be selected from anyone who is interested via the Porsche Car Configurator. The process was started by Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, who painted a brand-new 911 GT3 RS (992) in the this colour for exhibition purposes.
The overall range of “Colours of Choice” is very big. For the 911 and 718 model series, there are currently 115 additional paint colours to choose from, For the Taycan there are currently 108 such options, while for the Panamera and the Macan the number is 59, with the Cayenne offering a choice of 52 different colours. Taking into account a number of overlaps, there are 170 additional colours for all model series combined.
Personal design even in the interior
Michael Essmann selected not only “Paint to Sample Plus” but also further custom options from the Sonderwunsch programme of Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur. For example, his very personal 911 GT3 Touring (992) has a Porsche logo on the side whose look is based on the Porsche Heritage Design models.
In the interior, the seats were customised. Based on the 964 RS, the seat centres have a graduated colour design in Slate Grey and Crayon. Trim made of carbon enhances the dashboards. The “touring” logo is stitched into the headrests of the full bucket seats in red thread. This fits in with the overall concept as Elektro Essmann also uses red as a contrasting colour.
About Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur
A sports car as individual as your own fingerprint, as unmistakable as your own lifestyle: Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur in Zuffenhausen creates very personal customer vehicles through a combination of perfect craftsmanship and a high-tech approach. Highly qualified employees with decades of expertise devote their full attention to every detail and enhance it through hand craftsmanship.
The experts can draw on a wide range of visual and technical customisation options for the exterior and interior of Porsche cars. Visible examples include Sport Design packages, custom rim designs and interior trims, as well as the comprehensive “Paint to Sample” range for all Porsche models. Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur fulfils the highest demands with regard to materials and craftsmanship. Alongside individual customer vehicles, Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur also produces limited small series and editions. High-quality materials are combined with modern production technologies to create a harmonious overall concept.
