All of it started with a reasonably humble request again in 1955. Industrialist Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach wished a rear windshield wiper for his 356 A Coupé. Definitely an uncommon request for the time, however Porsche mentioned sure, and the remainder is historical past. It triggered a motion that went from small fixes on the Stuttgart Zuffenhausen workshops to full-blown, tailored, bespoke hypercars at present underneath Porsche’s Sonderwunsch and Unique Manufaktur packages. In 1962, Krupp requested for one more rear wiper, this time for his 356 B Carrera 2, and it wasn’t a simple one to drag off. However after a number of cracked windshields, a mechanic was lastly capable of get the job completed.
By the mid-to-late Sixties, Porsche was dealing with greater than quirky requests, and the identical was on show in a 1968 911 2.0, a purpose-built machine that was set to participate within the 16,000-kilometer (9,942-mile) London to Sydney rally. On condition that the automotive would encounter every thing from run-ins with wild animals to river crossings on the transcontinental run, it was extensively modified with issues like a tubular body and a tailpipe that was prolonged above the roofline of the automobile.
Within the mid-Nineteen Seventies, Italian Rely Gregorio Rossi di Montelera pushed the envelope even additional, as he requested a street-legal, 917 Kurzheck, sure, the identical endurance racer that had dominated Le Mans a number of years prior. Porsche delivered by becoming mirrors, lights, and a muffler to tame the 620 horsepower beast, and a bespoke leather-clad cabin with added creature comforts. A second 917 Avenue adopted in 1977.
By 1978, the Sonderwunsch division was formally born, after which got here extra icons. In 1983, Saudi businessman Mansour Ojjeh’s 935 “Avenue” set a brand new benchmark with 930 Turbo-based construct. That includes a Flachbau physique with sweet apple paint, a cream caramel leather-based inside with wooden paneling, this slantnose magnificence helped encourage Porsche Unique Manufaktur in 1986
The following many years noticed the creation of even wilder builds. A seven-car run of Pure gold-plated Porsche 959s for the Qatari royal household in 1989, a Turbo 3.3 Cabriolet with a rain-sensing electrical convertible roof with a 28–web page choice record in 1990. Quick ahead to 1997: a Coppa Florio Blue 911 GT2 (993) obtained a Can Can Crimson leather-based inside, with even the radio and lights switched being wrapped. In 2004, a buyer’s orange 911 (996) Turbo Cab was color-matched inside-out to a porcelain plate. Porsche finally launched the ‘Most Private Automotive’ initiative again in 2004.
However above all, let’s not overlook actor and comic Jerry Seinfeld, one of the crucial outstanding Porsche collectors on this planet who famously owns a one-off 996 Basic Membership coupe constructed by Sonderwunsch, that took inspiration from the limited-run 997 Sport Basic. With simply 250 produced, this retro-inspired 911 encompasses a ducktail spoiler, Fuchs-style wheels, and a double-dome roof that harkens again to the Nineteen Seventies. In all, Porsche Unique Manufaktur launched 4 collector variants from the Heritage Design Version.
By 2021, Porsche had taken it to a complete new degree with Unique Manufaktur, which at present affords over 1,000 choices and 190 paint colours to decide on via the Paint-to-sample program. Customized builds via Porsche’s Sonderwunsch program additionally reached new heights with the likes of the Ding Yang Taycan Turbo S and extra not too long ago, in 2024, when singer-songwriter Álvaro Soler customised a 928 S with Soler yellow metallic paint, a pampa brown leather-based inside, and a 360-degree sound system developed by the Porsche improvement middle in Weissach.
A one-off 993 Speedster fee completed in luminous yellow, created for Italian designer and collector Luca Trazzi was significantly particular as Porsche skipped sequence manufacturing of the 911 Speedster for the 993 technology, however constructed this one-off at Trazzi’s request.
Basically, Porsche’s Sonderwunsch (particular request or particular needs) program and Porsche Unique Manufaktur have come a good distance because the early days of manufacturing facility customization. The place Unique Manufaktur focuses on pre-defined choices and ending, Sonderwunsch takes issues to a complete new degree with really bespoke one-off creations, together with distinctive physique modifications, wheel designs and even manufacturing facility restorations of historic automobiles. Each packages provide extremely customized experiences and are a showcase of what’s potential, restricted solely by your creativeness and finances.
Supply: Porsche
