Build Your Own Car: Porsche – The Exclusive Manufaktur Guide

For Porsche enthusiasts, true ownership means more than selecting a model — it means creating a vehicle that embodies your personal vision. When you build your own car through Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, it allows you to craft a sports car or SUV tailored precisely to your specifications, resulting in a one-of-a-kind machine that reflects your individuality.

This comprehensive guide explores everything you need to know about Porsche’s legendary customization program: from Paint to Sample colors and bespoke interiors to the ultra-exclusive Sonderwunsch one-off creations. You’ll discover the three levels of customization available and learn how the ordering process works.

At Cartelligent, we specialize in guiding clients through the Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur experience. With over 1,000 configurator options and 190+ Paint to Sample colors available, the customization possibilities can quickly become overwhelming. Our consultation-first approach helps you navigate these choices strategically, ensuring your final specification achieves your vision — without the frustration of conflicting options or unavailable features.

The Build Your Own Car Advantage

Building your own Porsche delivers benefits impossible to achieve with dealer inventory:

• Complete Control: Every element — from exterior paint to interior materials, from performance options to personalized details — aligns exactly with your preferences.
• Financial Benefits: Building your own car can save you money compared to stock models—avoid dealer markups on high-demand configurations and eliminate unwanted packages.
• Emotional Investment: Create a deeper connection with your vehicle that begins with your first design decision and continues through every production update.

For drivers who demand perfection in every detail, special ordering is the only acceptable path.

Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur: Engineering Dreams Into Reality

Porsche’s Exclusive Manufaktur program traces its origins to the 1950s, when the company began accommodating special customer requests. What started as occasional modifications has evolved into a comprehensive personalization program that rivals haute couture in its attention to individual taste and craftsmanship. Today, when you build your own car with Exclusive Manufaktur, you’re participating in a 70+ year tradition of automotive individualization.

Based in Zuffenhausen, Germany — the birthplace of every Porsche sports car — Exclusive Manufaktur employs skilled craftspeople who transform standard Porsches into bespoke creations. The program operates on a simple principle: if a request is technically feasible and doesn’t compromise safety or performance, Porsche will make it happen.

Customization Scope: From Subtle to Spectacular

When you build your own car with Porsche, the possibilities extend across every aspect of your vehicle:

Exterior Options

Porsche offers extraordinary paint options through its Paint to Sample program:

• Paint to Sample: Over 190 additional exterior colors beyond the standard palette, including popular historical Porsche shades and contemporary favorites
• Paint to Sample Plus: Create a completely bespoke exterior color from scratch — bring a paint chip, fabric swatch, or even a photograph, and Porsche’s paint specialists will match it precisely
• Special Finishes: Matte, satin, and metallic finishes available
• Wheels: Receive equal attention, with custom finishes, colors, and designs available.

Interior Customization

Exclusive Manufaktur transforms Porsche interiors into personal sanctuaries:

• Leather Colors & Combinations: Over 70 leather colors, including the entire Paint to Sample color range, applied to interior surfaces
• Stitching Options: Contrasting or complementary thread in virtually any color, applied to seats, dashboard, door panels, and steering wheel
• Upholstery Patterns: Classic basket weave, diamond quilting, and custom patterns
• Materials: Choose from leather, Alcantara, leather-Alcantara combinations, carbon fiber, fine woods, and precious metals
• Custom Accents: Personalized embroidery, colored seat belts, painted interior trim, custom floor mats, and illuminated door sills with your name

Performance & Functionality

Exclusive Manufaktur extends beyond aesthetics:

• Sport exhaust systems with distinctive sound characteristics
• Lightweight options, including carbon fiber components
• Custom aerodynamic elements
• Specialized suspension tuning (within factory parameters)
• Personalized instrumentation and displays

The Three Levels of Customization

Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur operates on three distinct levels:

Level 1 – Configurator Options: More than 1,000 options are visible in the online configurator, including exterior paints, wheels, interior colors, equipment packages, and more.

Level 2 – Moderate Custom Builds: These require consultation with an Exclusive Manufaktur design manager and involve customizations beyond the standard configurator options.

Level 3 – Serious Custom Builds: The most extensive level of customization, featuring dozens of bespoke touches that require significant additional production time and engineering consideration.

The Porsche Code System

Porsche provides every customer with a unique eight-digit Porsche Code that saves their complete configuration. Your Cartelligent advisor will share this code with you, which allows you to access your build at any time or transfer most equipment when switching to a different model within the same series.

Documentation and Provenance

Porsche maintains comprehensive records of all Exclusive Manufaktur builds in its archives department. Distinguished vehicles receive a “Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur” plaque, and the company can verify provenance through its records system — important for collectors and future resale.

The Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur Ordering Process with Cartelligent

At Cartelligent, we understand that Porsche’s extensive customization options — over 1,000 configurator choices, 190+ Paint to Sample colors, and countless Exclusive Manufaktur possibilities — can quickly become overwhelming, especially for first-time custom orders. Our process is designed to navigate you through the complexity while ensuring your final specification delivers exactly what you want. Here’s how we work:

Step 1: Discovery Consultation

Before touching any configurator, we begin with a conversation:

• Understanding Your Vision: We discuss what you want to build and why. What draws you to certain colors, materials, or features? How will you use the vehicle?
• Budget Clarity: We establish what level of customization aligns with your budget, helping you understand where your investment delivers the most impact.
• Model Selection: Not all Porsche models offer every Exclusive Manufaktur option. We guide you to the right model that supports your customization vision and avoids frustrating limitations.
• Program Navigation: We help you understand which customization programs — standard options, Paint to Sample, or full Exclusive Manufaktur — best achieve your goals at the right price point.

This consultation prevents the common pitfall of falling in love with options that aren’t available for your chosen model or that would push your budget beyond comfortable limits.

Step 2: Guided Configuration

Once we understand your vision and parameters, we guide you through the online configurator strategically:

• Start with Foundation: We begin with the base model and essential options, establishing the vehicle’s core character before moving to customizations.
• Layer Customization Thoughtfully: We then introduce Exclusive Manufaktur options methodically, helping you visualize how exterior colors work with interior materials, how stitching complements leather choices, and how individual elements create a cohesive design.
• Navigate Restrictions: We help you work around the frustrating reality that not all colors, materials, or options are available on every model, steering you toward alternatives that achieve your desired result.
• Price Transparency: Throughout the process, we provide clear pricing for each customization decision so you always know where your investment is going.

Step 3: Expert Review & Order Placement

Before finalizing your order, we provide a critical safeguard:

• Configuration Review: Even experienced clients appreciate it when we catch options that might detract from the overall aesthetic or create unintended visual conflicts. We review every specification to ensure harmony.
• Final Refinements: We suggest adjustments where needed, always respecting your vision while applying our experience with hundreds of custom orders.
• Order Coordination: Once your configuration is perfect, we handle all communication with Porsche and your dealer, ensuring every detail is captured accurately and submitted correctly.

Step 4: Production Updates & Delivery

Throughout your Porsche’s journey from Zuffenhausen to your driveway — which can take several months — we keep you informed:

• Progress Tracking: We monitor your vehicle’s production status and provide regular updates.
• Timeline Management: We set realistic expectations and keep you informed of any changes to your delivery schedule.
• Delivery Coordination: When your one-of-a-kind Porsche is complete, we handle all final logistics to ensure a seamless delivery experience.

Our expertise removes complexity from the Exclusive Manufaktur process. We help you navigate decisions confidently while ensuring every choice moves you closer to your dream Porsche. For clients building their second or third custom order, simply send us their configurator link for review. The seasoned custom build clients trust our eye for details that ensure their vision becomes reality.

Begin Your Exclusive Manufaktur Journey with Cartelligent

Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur represents 70+ years of personalization excellence. If you are seeking a subtle variation from standard specifications, Porsche’s craftspeople stand ready to transform your vision into reality.

Your perfect Porsche awaits — not on a showroom floor, but in your imagination and Porsche’s unmatched ability to bring it to life.

Ready to build your own Porsche? Start your new car search with Cartelligent today. Our team will guide you through every step of creating your Exclusive Manufaktur masterpiece, from initial vision to final delivery.

All pricing, options, and program details are subject to change by Porsche. Cartelligent recommends confirming current availability and specifications with your dedicated advisor before building your own car.