Porsche Paint to Sample Colors: Choosing a Color for Your 911 Backdate
Porsche Paint to Sample Colors: Choosing a Color for Your 911 Backdate
Color changes everything about a 911. Porsche’s Paint to Sample program made rare and historic colors famous, and on a custom backdate your choice is almost unlimited. Here is what Paint to Sample means and how to choose a color you will still love in twenty years.
What is Porsche Paint to Sample?
Paint to Sample, usually shortened to PTS, is a Porsche program that lets buyers of new cars choose a color outside the standard palette. Historically this meant picking a color from Porsche’s archive of past shades. More recently, Porsche introduced PTS Plus, which allows fully bespoke colors developed for an individual customer.
PTS cars are rarer and often command a premium on the used market, which is why color has become such an important part of a 911’s identity.
The most iconic Porsche colors
- Irish Green: a deep, classic green from the early 911 era.
- Mexico Blue: a bright 1970s blue that is now one of the most requested heritage colors.
- Gulf Blue: a pale racing blue linked with motorsport heritage.
- Signal Yellow: the unmistakable bright yellow of the 1970s.
- Oak Green Metallic: a rich, dark metallic green that suits a modern backdate.
- Riviera Blue: a vivid blue from the 1990s air-cooled era.
How to choose a color for a backdate
A backdate starts as a bare shell, so the color is genuinely your choice. A few principles help:
- Match the era: solid 1960s and 1970s colors suit the long-hood silhouette; metallics lean more modern.
- Think about the interior: the color and the cabin should be designed together. Our guide to personalized Porsche 911 interiors covers trims and materials.
- See it in daylight: historic colors look very different on a small chip and on a full car.
- Consider value: heritage Porsche colors tend to be desirable when a car changes hands.
Paint to Sample vs Paint to Sample Plus
On new cars, Porsche offers two tiers. Paint to Sample lets buyers pick from a large archive of historic and special colors that Porsche has already approved for production. Paint to Sample Plus goes further: the buyer can request a completely new color, which Porsche develops and tests before it goes on the car. Both are ordered through Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur and add significant cost and lead time.
On a backdate, the idea is the same, with more freedom. Because the car is being refinished from bare metal, any color can be matched, from an original 1960s shade to a modern metallic or a custom mix.
Does color affect value?
On classic 911s, it does. Rare, period-correct colors like Irish Green, Signal Orange or Mexico Blue often attract more interest than silver or black, and a well-chosen color can make a car more memorable at resale. That said, a backdate is a personal commission. The best advice is to choose the color you will love seeing every time you open the garage, then make sure the interior and wheels support it.
Protecting a special color
- Paint protection film on the nose, front fenders and mirrors guards against stone chips without changing the look.
- Ceramic coating makes the finish easier to clean and adds gloss.
- Keep the paint code and records. For a custom mix, keep the formula so any future repair can be matched exactly.
How paint is done on a Shoreline build
Because every Shoreline car is a full body-off rebuild, paint comes after the shell has been stripped, repaired and prepared. That means color goes everywhere it should, including door shuts, under the hood and inside the engine lid, just as it would on a factory car. You can read more about exterior work in Sculpting the Legacy.
Color is one of the first decisions in a custom Porsche 911 backdate, and one of the most personal.
Frequently asked questions
What does Paint to Sample mean on a Porsche?
Paint to Sample (PTS) is Porsche’s program for painting a new car in a color outside the standard options, usually a historic Porsche color. PTS Plus extends this to fully custom colors.
What are the most popular Porsche PTS colors?
Colors such as Irish Green, Mexico Blue, Gulf Blue, Signal Yellow, Oak Green Metallic and Riviera Blue are among the most requested.
Can a backdate be painted any color?
Yes. Because a backdate is a full body-off rebuild, it can be painted in any factory Porsche color, a PTS color or a completely bespoke shade.
Your air-cooled 911, built around you.
Every Shoreline car is a hand-built Porsche 911 restomod, engineered from a hand-picked 964 or 993 donor and specified entirely by you. Build slots are limited each year.
Keep reading
See how we build custom Porsche 911 restomods and backdates, from donor car to delivery.
Choosing a donor car? Read Porsche 964 vs 993: which is better for a backdate.