Bespoke paint is a huge deal for new cars now. The days of Ferraris only being available in Rosso Corsa or having no option but Imperial Blue for a fast Ford are long gone. We’ve reached the point where Audi was offering Sonoma Green on the outgoing RS3, for example, which the buyer would have to pay £2,600 and wait two and half years for. At least one person did.
Paint matters because it’s the first thing everybody else sees. Advances in wrap technology, and the willingness of carmakers to embrace a broader palette, have opened up a world of colour. It says something about you and your car immediately, and can be deeply personal. The manufacturers are happy too, of course, because there’s money to be made in special colours. Everyone wins. Some effort clearly went into the ‘Roughroads’ livery on the Porsche 911 Dakar, but £18,000? Come on.
Never ones to miss an option opportunity, Porsche has embraced its Paint To Sample wholeheartedly of late. Previously reserved for the really special models, now buyers of more everyday Porsches with money to spend can get a great colour. For £7,536 you could have an Aubergine Taycan Sport Turismo; the same money gets Lava Orange on a Macan. Barnato Green on a 911 Carrera S? Of course - that’s £7,880. And a great way to waste an afternoon on the configurator…
Anyway, as always with car customisation, there are levels to these things. Choosing from Porsche's extensive array of colours is great; getting them to paint your car the exact colour you wish is even better still. Everyone has a story they’ve heard of so-and-so matching a supercar to a pocket square or a perfume bottle, but this has to top them all. This 918 Spyder was bought by someone who also owned a P1; they loved their McLaren’s Cerulean Blue so much, they had the Porsche painted exactly the same. Pretty cool, huh? Especially as it’s such a great colour, rich and vivid and something a bit different to the usual hues seen on a 918 - but absolutely suited to the Spyder’s stunning shape. Without knowing better, it could very easily be assumed this is an in-house paint. Probably also looks great on a 911 or something else mid-engined.
This 918 commission was far more than just the incredible paint, however, as the whole spec mirrored that of the McLaren. So the interior was decked out in Yachting Blue, the standard calipers replaced with silver ones (at a cost of €2,000), indeed every element that could have been Acid Green was swapped out for something more subtle - the result is spectacular. And topped off, perfectly, with magnesium wheels.
In total, €90,000 was spent on getting this 918 Spyder just right, which is some commitment to the cause. Bet the two hybrid hypercars looked incredible together. Now the Porsche is for sale after eight years and less than 3,000 miles of driving. It presents absolutely flawlessly, of course, right down to the manual wallet matched to the upholstery. It’s a properly special 918 Spyder. The asking price is £POA; with similar mileage (but plain old silver) examples commanding £1.25m, we’d expect something in that ballpark. And if there must be a matching McLaren alongside, guess the colour of this Senna…
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