Color Choice Pros & Cons

Although I went with the black option, but wondering if black will make the car look smaller and hide the side inlet and other design definition. Wondering why Porsche has chosen to show mostly Artic Silver beside being a universally acceptable color. I wonder which color brings out the true beauty of this car from both design/definition and percieved beauty standpoint. Thoughts, Comments?

Silver is Porsche's color. If you believe what some auto mags have said, Guards Red is the 'perfect' color for the Cayman . Can't say that any color looks bad because the car has a truly striking appearance. Certainly have been many threads on different color combos on this site. What will be nice is to actually see pictures of all the different combos. Talked to a dealer today about selling my blue Boxster and he said if it was black, red or yellow that it would be a lot easier to move. I plan on keeping my Cayman for the long haul so I'm not concerned about buying a color that's not high on the popularity list,Carmon Red. My second choice would be Guards Red.

I was going to get guards red as it looks great until I saw Basalt Black with Carrera Sport wheels. The black actually accentuates the curves more with the reflections. Makes the Cayman look evil. Very Menacing.

has anyone seen non-metallic black in person? I am wondering if Basalt black is better.

I have seen both, Plain Black is good but basalt is that bit more special. Looks brighter and more striking. Hard to desrcibe a black as brighter. Must be going mad.

Silver is not only Porsche's 'color' but, harkening back to the early days of international sports and formula car racing each country had a traditional color. Germany's color is silver, which is why most Porsches debut in silver, and the early Mercedes Le Mans racers were called the 'silver arrows.' Green is traditionally Britain (the famous BRG or British Racing Green), France is blue, Italy is obviously Red, the US color is white. FWIW, I think the Cayman looks best in the darker colors, and colors that contrast with the red in the tail lights... I like the guards red, but the tail lights become less of a design element as they blend in too much for my taste. I think the Carmon red looks much better. The darker colors also reflect the light more like a mirror, which I feel accentuates the fluid and more organic shapes of the body. I'm going with the regular black with the sand beige interior. My last three (of 5) 911s have been black. I just like Porsches in black, I guess. I've looked at the Basalt black, the the flakes have a bit of a gold tone to them in the bright sunlight that can look very nice, but I just like the regular black the best. I don't think it makes the car look smaller, but these things tend to be in the eye of the beholder brad

COUNTRY COLORS OF CAR NUMBERS Argentina Body: blue red on white Hood: yellow Chassis: black Belgium Body: yellow black Brazil Body: pale yellow black Chassis and wheels:green Bulgaria Body: green red Hood: white Canada Body: green white Stripes: white Chile Body: red half blue- Hood: blue half red or Underframe: white all red on white Cuba Body: yellow white on black Hood: black Czecho- Body: white blue slovakia Hood: blue and white Underframe: red Egypt Pale violet red on white Finland Black blue on white France Blue white Germany White red Great Green white Britain Holland Orange white Hungary Body, front: white black Body, rear: green Hood: red Irish Free Green with horizontal white State band of orange around body Italy Red white Luxem- Pearlgray white on red burg Mexico Gold white on black Monaco White with red hori- black on white zontal band around body Poland Body and hood: white red Underframe: red Portugal Body and hood: red white Underframe: white Scotland Green white South Body: Gold black on white Africa Hood: green Spain Hood: yellow black on yellow Body and chassis: red white on red Sweden Body and hood, lower white part:blue-upper:yellow Three cross bands of blue on top of hood Switzer- Hood: white black land Body and underframe: red Thailand Body and hood: white on blue pale blue with yellow horizontal band around body and hood Wheels: pale yellow United Body and hood: white blue on white States Underframe: blue Venezuela Body: white Stripe:green THE COLOR IN RACING (ROAD AND TRACK- 1960) REFERENCES are often made, in R&T, to the 'red' cars from Ferrari or Maserati, the 'green' cars from Vanwall, Aston Martin or Jaguar and the 'white' or 'sil- ver' cars from Mercedes-Benz. These are not arbitrary colors picked by each construc- tor for his cars (except in the case of strictly national, local or club competition, where anything goes), but are the result of a decision reached in the early days of racing. Cars were, and still are, distinguishable by assigned num- bers, but further separation (prompted no doubt by na- tionalistic feelings) was felt desirable. This is why racing cars from Italy are red, the cars from England are green and the cars from Germany are white (or sometimes sil- ver-the result of leaving the aluminum body unpainted). A private owner will generally paint his car in the color(s) of his own country, rather than the manufactur- er's. According to the C.S.I. of the F.I.A., 'The use of distinctive colors of nationality is compulsory when the supplementary regulations of the competition require it. These colors are determined by the nationality of the competitor.' So, a Ferrari owned by an Englishman would be painted green, even though it was an Italian car. Thus, it has become a tradition for racing cars to be painted in the colors of the entrant, although they are oc- casionally seen with minor variations. Mercedes, for ex- ample, honored Englishman Richard Seaman, who was a Mercedes team driver, with a green border around the grille opening of his car. The shrewd Germans had also noted that this would allow quick identification if Seaman and one of the other Mercedes drivers (who would be in identical cars) chanced to pass rapidly by the pits at the same time. Because these colors were assigned during the days when racing cars possessed chassis that were visible be- neath the body, many countries have a combination of colors: one for the body, one for the, chassis and some- times another for some other part, such as the wheels or hood. This presented a problem when streamlining came into fashion and the chassis disappeared from sight. As a consequence, the color formerly allotted to the chassis is now applied in the form of stripes or other trim over the color assigned to the body by the Code Sportif Interna- tional of the Federation Internationale de L'Automobile. To further simplify (or complicate) matters, green, the color assigned to the British Empire, is used as a basis for all cars from England and its possessions. The common- wealth countries use green as a body color with other colors, at their choice, as stripes. Canada, for example, uses two white stripes 4 in. wide, one on each side of the car's centerline and 6 in. apart. British racing green, to dispel some of the arguments, is not any particular shade of green, but Napier green is preferred. Stirling Moss drove a light sea-green BRM in the 1959 French Grand Prix. This was quite contrary to the accepted general opinion of what constitutes 'British Racing Green' but was, nevertheless, acceptable. The color applied to a racing car has also had its share of side effects. For many years U.S. drivers would not drive in, or in competition with, cars painted any shade of green; they believed the color to be unlucky. This has diminished in recent years, especially since the advent of more British international competition. The chart lists the racing colors of each country as as- signed by the C.S.I. The car number and its background color, a necessary aid to identity, are made to contrast as as much as possible to aid race officials and lap scorers. Colors assigned to chassis or underframe in the chart are now applied to stripes or trim. Edited by - mpollard on 01/07/2006 11:20:46 AM

Brad, My last 5 cars have been Black with Tan interior, and pulling away from that combo was like pulling teeth. In fact I am still struggling with it. That combo on a Cayman is just so dynamic and rich looking. Russ

Mpollard, Nicely done, thank you. brad

Russ, I hear you... but that cobalt will be simply stunning... it looks great in the pictures, and I'm sure will be even better in the flesh (or sheetmetal). brad

I also read someplace that the reason German colors evolved from white to silver was that they started to experiment with leaving the cars unpainted, which just showed the natural color of the aluminum to save weight... every little bit helps, as they say... brad

mpollard, You are in keeping with your reputation, good find. Brad, Thanks for the words of encouragement. I usually stick with what I know and love and for me moving away from black was a big step. I am sure I will not be disappointed. Russ

I know now that I'm not a black car person. I had one and loved the look, but no garage and just the way it got so darn hot in the sun, drove me nuts. When I sold it I swore to never get another black car. I do like the looks of the black Cayman Porsche though.

All: Silver is not really Porsche's color. If you notice silver is THE best color for automobile pictures and marketing (at least in the US). Take a look at the ads, Silver Caddys, silver Acuras, silver Porsches, silver MBZ's... The color has a richness and ability to show body lines the best for marketing purposes.

mpollard, thanks for the excellent historical perspective on colors. I've always wanted a triple black Porsche but for now I'm partial to reds & blues (that midnite blue with natural brown looks intriguing). Would really like to see a Dark Olive with Sand or Natural Brown. Fully expect to see Cobalt with Sand pictures here shortly and I'm sure everyone will rave about that combo.

I live in Italy and bought one yellow with blu sea leather interior !!!!!!

sivorik, I would love to see pics of that combo, it sounds exciting, congratulations! Russ

I'll love to send a lot of as soon as i took my croc .... It will be in the fist week of March .... (I bought almost everything)

Yes very exciting combo - can I please come to Italy and drive it around looking at beautiful art and sculpture.

Yes of course also on italian tracks ... like Monza and Imola....