How much does the color of a Porsche affect others' reaction to it?

In day-to-day life, how much does the color of a Porsche affect the overall attention/reaction that it gets? This is a question I've been pondering as I get close to purchasing a 996 of my own. I've narrowed my color choice down to two colors: Guards Red and Seal Gray. I love the Red, but I'm wondering if it would be almost too much of an attention-getter. Would the Red come with a significantly larger amount of reaction "baggage" (attention from the Police, other drivers, drag racers, bystanders, thieves, etc�) than the Gray car would? This is a very interesting question and I'd love to hear how others treat you in your car and whether you think color makes a big difference (positively or negatively). Thanks in advance...

I think you are right. I have had Kalahari Beige (yuk), Guards Red and Arctic Silver. But I had the least trouble with a Prussian Blue 911 3.2.

One thing I can tell you is that I rarely seem to notice exotic cars going in the opposite direction on the highway unless they are red or yellow. Yellow especially seems to catch my eye as unlike red it's still pretty uncommon. I have to imagine that it's much the same for some guy with a badge and radar gun. Those colors are designed to attract attention and they do.

A gray Porsche is still a Porsche -- it will attract attention on the road regardless. -- as will your driving style. Radar guns don't necessarily discriminate. One other thing to consider is re-sale. If YOU like the gray, you should be happy to own it. However, I personally I have a feeling it would be harder to sell a gray P-car than a red one.

Had Guards Red Have Polar Silver Get the same amount of looks.

Go for teal or the new Corette red.

Seal Grey on the 996's body looks very classy!

even if radar guns don't discriminate the cops will be more willing to give you a warning if you appear in a more favorable light. i had a '79 guards red 911sc that i loved but that almost lost me my license lapis blue is more forgiving and still gets lots of attention. that said--i still love guards red and speed yellow--but i'm chicken!

I also think GR and SY stand out for recognition by friend and foe alike. My personal preference would be AS, PS (if you can afford it) or even SG. Those are neutral colors and allows my wife to look good in any color outfit! Maybe it's my age!

I have Seal Gray and Love it. I guess it all depends what you're after. Seal Gray doesn't attract that much attention, but Guard Red would.

That may have been true 15 years ago, but the reverse is now the case. Some dealers won't keep red 996s in trade , as they won't sell. Silver and seal grey are sought after in the 996 resale market , followed by darker blues, then black. How often do you see a NEW red 996 vs silver or Seal Grey ?

wrt to color, there was a survey a few months ago re: new car colors - the result was 40+% of new cars are either white or some shade of silver (this would include silver). IMHO for Porsche resale purposes silver is the safest color there is (I don't think white looks good on the996 body style).

I've always been partial to silver / grey cars...a very sophisticated look. But since I've had so many in past years, I decided be different and go red. If you stand on a street corner, you'll see many red common cars, so I figure that a red porsche isn't going to stand out because of its color. And so far...no tickets. The comment about resale is definitely true here in Northern California. You can bargain a lot more for any shade of red....seal grey goes off the lot much faster. It's easier to take care of than black and still has a very formal look. But I haven't regretted my Orient Red cab one single time either.

I like guards red but it is a very 80's color and it trades at a big discount. If you are buying used, you should be able to get a great deal. If you are buying new, you sould be able to get a decent discount but it wont make up for the value drop you will experience when you sell it.

Yellow definitely gets a LOT of attention. When I first bought the car back in 2000, the amount of attention was almost disconcerting. Now I am used to it, plus there are a lot more Boxsters on the road. Ultimately I think you need to get what YOU like, regardless of what other people may think. They aren't living your life. If we let other people dictate our car preferences, we'd all be driving grey Tauruses (not that there's anything wrong with that!).

Well I like the yellow.. and blue i have zenith blue with savanna interior i think its the best look for that colour. in generally speaking bright colours its my favorites

I heard a quote the other day: "You're all there laughing at me because I'm so different. I'm here laughing at you because you're all the same." It did give me pause. Man, I watch cars going down the street, and now that I've started to pay attention to it, it seems that about 97.362% of everything driving by is either white, silver, grey or bronze. Black and blue are not uncommon, green a little scarcer. Occasionally a flaming violet Pinto, but let's just forget about that (did I say flaming?). Yellow and red? I'd say about one in a hundred (something less than 2.638%). There's nothing wrong w/ being one of the crowd, or driving a Taurus for that matter. If you truly don't mind being benignly beige. I think that Guards Red makes the 996 a couple of mph faster than the other colors (my perception is my reality)! Attention from others, who cares?! Just as long as it makes me smile when I open up the garage door every morning. A big thumbs up to having the right to being an individual. Jeff

Well I get lots of favorable stares at Zenith Blue and people always ask- "What color is that?" Second to Zenith Blue is Guards Red for me

I do not have much to compare it to as all but one of my cars ever, have been black. My friend has a silver c4S, I traded cars for a day, and although I do have a turbo, I got way less looks in the silver C4S than my black turbo. Not even close. Not very scientific, just an observation. As far as red, I would stay away from that, not very popular anymore and when I see one the only reason it draws more attention is becuase I wonder why the person got red so I look over and try and see the guy/girl driving -Lou

In your opinion... I happen to like red

I already said Seal Grey is the best color. Why are you guys still discussing this?

It's a sports car, and should look like one. Get your Mercedes or BMW sedan in gray or silver- get your 996 in Guards Red or Speed Yellow. Red may be "an 80's color", but rather that than the "wear black (or silver or gray) and look bored" mindset that seems to permeate this board. MW- '03 Guards Red C4 Cab, w/ black sports seats, red seat backs and console, and red stitching throughout- looks like a sportscar.

I've had Porsches in gold (Casablanca beighe metallic), red and white. I've never had more tickets than in the red one. Never got one in the white one.AS

I could not agree with this more. Last Saturday I arrived at a wedding party in my ZB 996 and got lots of stares and the- "SWEET", statement from the valet who left it parked directly in front of the building. 20 minutes later a Seal Grey 996 pulled up and away it went to the parking lot. Later that evening I spied my buddies Guards Red 928S4 creeping around downtown and it was simply jewel pretty. (Sorry DonW )

Grey seems to be very popular no matter what make/model of sports car you have. IMO the Exclusive Slate Grey Metallic which is darker (maybe the Atlas Grey soon to be released also) are THE colors......Here's a shot of my 2001 Slate Grey C2 (on the block btw if any interested parties)

How does Slate Gray compare to Seal Gray? Are they the same? one Darker than the other? Here's my Seal Gray

Slate Grey is much darker (more charcoal) and IMO the best color Porsche offers. It's an "Exclusive" option that is not part of the standard color offering. It also costs $3200.00 USD. Here's another shot.

for some reason the pic didn't post.....another try.

I have only had one ticket with my GR cab, the first week I had it. I suspect ticket count has more to do with the way you drive than a particular officer's color preferences....... All "my" cars up till this one have been black, a color I still like a lot, but I have never regretted going with GR. The interor is full light wood, with black leather and GR stitching. The contrasts garner a lot of attention where I take the car.

I also have a Red '99 Miata and like Gretch all my previous cars were dark. At first it took a little getting used to, but now I don't even think about what color the car is. I'm inside when driving, don't notice the outside color. But then again, it's just a Miata, not too many people stop to stare at one of those.

Gretch. Nice car. Only thing your missing are some bumper plugs from Eric. I just got my plugs today and that was the first think I noticed. Guess I'm looking for them.

Yeah, I went to get them from eric's site and found it a bit of a PITA to get through the process. I got impatient and pissed and gave up. I will trip across some in the future and be done with it. Not in any hurry though. I have a long list of things to do on my '89 GT.

Shouldn't you get the color you like and not what other people prefer? That's how I choose these things in my life. If my favourite color is Gulf (Blue with Orange stripe), speed yellow, guards Red or whatever, that's what I'm going to choose. I could care less if other people like some other color(s) better, it's my car and I want it to be the way I like it, not the way my neighbour likes it.

If your model is to buy things with no consideration to resale value, then I agree with your philosophy "flying". With cars, my practice has bee to keep them for a long time, so your approach works for me, but may not for folks who plan to trade in the car every few years, and don't like the lease route. But then, you knew that...........

You're right, as you, I'm definately not a "swapper". I'd rather wait longer and then get another and keep the existing one.As far as what my current car goes, it will be my sons after I'm too old for driving, hopefully I'm able to add other cars but even though, this will stay. Although, I don't think color matters that much when it comes to re-sale value (~$1000-$2000 when trading in for a new Porsche is worth of having the car I like the best, IMO of course).

Blatant self promotion but mine is for sale in the classifeds.

Do you have any photos of your car? I'd love to see it. I'm currently Porscheless, although I've owned 3 of them. I plan on getting either a 911 Cab (2 to 3 yrs old) or a new Boxster. I've been all over the color decision. I haven't seen a new 996 Cab in Guards Red but I'll bet it's cool! I owned a 80 911SC Guards Red Targa for close to 15 years. I always liked that color. Charlie

Speed Yellow. You will never go back.

Charlie- I'll work on it over the weekend, and if I can get it together, I'll post the pictures on this thread. MW

Charlie- Here are the promised pictures.

Oops. Let's try that again- first timer, sorry.

Since it worked, I'll try again.

More...

and finally...

very nice looking cab. I especially like the deviating red stitching. It would look that much better lowered to ROW or sport specs. With 18" wheels it's a must! The US non spot suspension looks and feels floaty compated to sport and ROW. H&R springs would bring it down about a 1/2 inch and the ride/handling/look would improve 100%.

Actually, this car does have the M030 sport suspension. Haven't seen the ROW live and in person to see if it would make a difference visually.

BTW, here's one I forgot.

I LIKE! Thanks, Charlie

I saved ALL your photos so I can look and dream... (I won't be buying anything until at least January.) Guards Red is making it's way to the top of my favorites. I also like some of the blues too. But that Guards RED is HOT! Thanks again for the photos. Charlie

The Porsche blues are gorgous IMO... Ocean Blue on my 99... This color is not being used any longer, but is a nice cross between the Lapis and Midnight blues. Recently traded for Speed Yellow... Talk about attracting attention, my helrot red BMW looked mild and subdued. I do like such classics as silver and the darker greys like the Slate and the new Atlas. However, after visiting the factorya lot of Porsches being produced in those classic colors. IMHO... any color can add or subtract to the value of a Porsche, it just depends on who is looking. Get the color that you want.

if you want a car to SHOW or to Concours then get a one off colour such as lime green or Barbie Pink..i've noticed at show's these are the cars that everyone photographs and coo's over.. but if your buying with resale in mind then stick with the silver/red/blue/black.

[QUOTE] Originally posted by Sloth [B]The Porsche blues are gorgous IMO... Ocean Blue on my 99... This color is not being used any longer, but is a nice cross between the Lapis and Midnight blues. As I look at the left rear of your blue car, it looks pretty wide (nice). Is (was) it a 993 or 996? You said it was a 99 so that's what confused me. I thought the last year for 993 was 98. Charlie

Had blue SC - not really special enough Had red SC - far too much adverse attention and so eighties (well it was) Had white 964 - well at least it was different ! Had silver 993 - see below Had silver 996 with GT3 kit but now so many cars in UK are silver (especially Mercs) Had black 964 Turbo II - the only colour, inmho, for that car Now have Speed Yellow 996 with GT3 kit and think that looks great (well i would wouldnt I?? ) and friend from PCGB has same colour 996 Turbo. We got a lot of (nice) looks on way to PCGB annual meeting last weekend. I would previously have not considered yellow but is easy to keep looking good and is not too agressive (?) Agree that you have to go with the colour that you want but inmo i think the seal grey looks better on th elines of 996 turbo while silver better on standard carrera. Red .... on gt3 yes