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The Money of Color: Reflections on How 356 Colors Can Affect Your Pocketbook
By Jim Schrager
[Editor: This article is reprinted from the 356 Registry magazine, Vol. 21 No. 3 Sep / Oct 1997]
There is probably nothing more
subjective than the color of your
Porsche. Our purpose here is not
to recount the emotional feelings about colors,
but rather to note some facts about colors
and their effect on the value of your car.
Do certain colors hurt the
value of my 356?
 The color which universally seems to
hurt is Togo Brown. I have seen some gorgeous
Togo Brown 356's sit for months unsold,
even when priced way below similar
cars in any other color. No other color has
quite the same negative effect on value.
Should I cbange from the
Kardex color?
In general, the answer is no. You will
usually maximize the value of your car by
painting it the original color (except for
brown). However, the new PCA restoration
rules have defined an entire concours class
where the Kardex is not viewed, so a new
attitude about picking a color different from
the Kardex may be developing.
What color to repaint my car?
If you do decide to change the color, it
should be an original 356 color for the year
of your car. The new PCA concours class does
judge the correctness of the car and engine
against the available options in the year of
production. If you paint the car a color not
available in the year of production, you will
almost always lose value. The colors for your
year are listed in the back of Brett Johnson's
book and Stoddard has color charts for some
B's and C's. Note however, that these rules do
not apply to race cars, which can be painted
almost any color.
 Do any original colors enhance
the value of my 356?
Well, two colors seem to have a special
value to some 356 buyers: silver and black. I
have often seen these colors bring a premium.
Which colors were used the most?
Exact data are hard to find, but the best
guesses are the shades of Ivory / Light Ivory
and both the later reds, Signal and Ruby.
These are colors which do not seem to have
any particular value effect, either positive
or negative. In other words, most people find
these good colors for the 356. The reason
these colors were used the most is unclear.
One theory is that many 356's were built for
dealer stock, and dealers found either Ivory
or Red to be easiest to sell off the showroom
floor.
Why are some of the colors so rare?
Since we don't have full color data, we
aren't certain. However, today 911's are built
in color batches, so it makes sense that 356's
were also. If you wanted one of the unusual
colors, say, Royal Blue (T-5 B), then you had
to wait until the factory had collected enough
Royal Blue orders to change the paint shop
to that color for a run of several bodies. The
wait required to have an unusual color built
may have been an additional impediment to
ordering one of these colors, making them
even more unusual.
Which colors were available
the longest?
In the early years of 1950-1956, there
was a large color selection with many unusual
colors, such as Moor Green, Fish Silver Gray,
Strawberry Red, Penicillin White, Terra
Cotta, and so on. These were used for a single
period and then generally not repeated (the
seven "color periods" are: 50-53; 54-55; 56; 5759;
60-61; 62-63; 64-65).This got streamlined
in 1957, with a selection of 7 standard and 4
special colors per period.
In looking at these more standardized
years, a few patterns are clear. First, black is
the only color available from 1950 to 1965 as
either a regular or special color. The next
most frequently seen colors are Silver and
Ivory, available in 5 of the seven color periods. 
Note however that both black and silver
are believed to be rare colors, regardless
of their long runs in the color chart. Both
Signal Red and Ruby Red appear 4 times each,
while Slate Gray appears 3 times. All other
colors appear in no more that two periods.
The Meissen Blue / Aetna Blue / Sky Blue nonmetallic
light blues each appeared in one
color period, for a total of three periods.
Should I change the color of the
interior?
It is easier and less costly to change the
color of an interior when compared to expense
and difficulty of changing the exterior
color. Therefore, it appears not to hurt
the value much, if at all.
Are certain colors important for
certain periods?
Yes, some years are identifiable by their
colors. Look at the color chart for a 50's
American car, and you will see up to half
the available colors in various shades of
green. Call on a 930 Turbo and you'll find
many in basic black. How about the bright
orange, yellow or gold cars of the early 911
series? These colors were promoted by
Porsche after their tests of active automotive
safety showed that a brightly colored
car had a better chance of avoiding an accident.
All of these colors represent trends at
the time and can be important as symbols
and reminders of the period.
 In the 356 world, the color combination
of blue (say Aetna Blue or Bali Blue)
with a red interior at one time was shunned.
Today, however, there seems to be a new appreciation
for this distinct and unusual combination.
Look around at concours today and
you will see the latest combinations getting
attention.
How important is color when
I sell my car?
I recently attended a meeting of the National
Automobile Dealers Association where
results froma nationwide study of consumer
attitudes about buying cars were released.
These results found that lack of the proper
color was the most important reason for not
making a new car sale. To many people, color
is a very important part of their new or used
car. Be careful what color you select.
Personally, I am very moved by color.
Next to the condition of the car, for me, it is
the most important thing. If you feel that
way too, know that you are not alone and
that the color of your 356 can have a big
effect on its value.
Technical advice given on
these pages is provided free and without warranty. The user of
information presented on these pages assumes all responsibility
and liability in its use. We're not lawyers, we're car folk,
just sharing our experience. Be careful, use your head, have
fun.
Questions or comments, please email to Barry Lee Brisco, Website Technical Editor,
Published 08/17/07 by Barry Lee Brisco
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