The Story of the Oriental-inspired Porsche Taycan Turbo S Celestial Jade

ZUFFENHAUSEN, Germany - Customised Porsche 911s? Yeah, those are sought after alright, but due to their popularity they have almost become somewhat commonplace. Just look at the interest around Paint-to-Sample (PTS) 911s, or aftermarket tuners like Singer, RWB and Gunther Werks.

Now don’t get me wrong - a Porsche 911 will always be a special car and more so one that is tailored for its owner. But it is a very well-trodden path that, well, doesn’t make as big a statement about a region’s lofty ambitions.

Porsche Asia Pacific has intently placed itself on the world map and is now a force to be reckoned with in the Porsche world. It boasts the local production of the Cayenne in Malaysia, Porsche’s first assembly facility outside of Europe, as well as playing host to the world premiere of the Macan in Singapore just earlier this year. It has a brand new Porsche Studio Singapore and in a couple of years’ time, will even open a Porsche Experience Centre in the city state.

So, trust Porsche Asia Pacific to think a little differently for its first customised car project whose concept is derived entirely in-house together with Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur. Wanting to break out from predictability and to make a point that the most unlikely candidate for customisation can also be desirable, they’ve picked the fastest electric car Porsche has on offer - the Taycan Turbo S - as the blank canvas.

High-value commissions of customised electric cars are few and far between. Could it be that they are often thought of more as appliances than emotional purchases? Well, Porsche has certainly turned conventional thinking on its head.

Custom tailoring for cars

At this point it’s worth talking about Porsche’s long relationship with customisation. Dubbed the Sonderwunsch programme, which stands for Special Requests in German, Porsche has been creating individualised, one-off cars since the late 1970s. Customisation, often a time-consuming labour of love, took a backseat when Porsche focused on its survival in the 1990s. During this time it focused mainly on Tequipment, which are accessories that Porsche owners can buy for their cars, like roof boxes or a bicycle rack.

However, in recent years there has been a refocus back into customisation, starting from the rebirth of Exclusive Manufaktur under which Sonderwunsch sits. If thought of as a pyramid, Tequipment forms the base, while Exclusive Manufaktur options installed at the factory line such as PTS forms the next level. Above that, there are Exclusive Manufaktur vehicles that start from Editions (e.g. the 911 Carrera GTS 30 Years Porsche Thailand Edition), to the Limited Series (e.g. the 911 Sport Classic) and right at the top of the rung, Sonderwunsch which comprises of Factory Commissions, Re-Commissions and One-Offs.

Factory Commissions are based upon new cars offered by Porsche as a base, while Re-Commmissions and One-Offs are based on existing customer cars. While the former focuses on colour and trim, the latter even involves development of new parts, be it cosmetic or mechanical. The Taycan Turbo S Celestial Jade is a Factory Commission, which is essentially a car built to the highest degree of customisation by Sonderwunsch.

Chipping away to perfection

A customer would first typically specify his or her Porsche on the Car Configurator. If the options available there aren’t suitable for the customer, that’s where Sonderwunsch kicks in.

A personal consultation is arranged at Porsche’s headquarters in Zuffenhausen or at one of its many international Porsche Centres to understand the request and thereafter, a contract is presented for Porsche to produce a concept, which would cost a minimum of EUR 100,000. It may sound expensive, but we must remember that even cosmetic changes to the car would need technical approval including crash testing. For example, if a 911’s roll cage is painted in a completely new PTS colour, the emissions emitted by the paint in the interior throughout the course of its service life cannot be above a certain threshold. If it is, it’s back to the drawing board.

At this time the customer is free to make changes to the concept in liaison with the Sonderwunsch team (at his/her own cost of course!). Porsche adds that some customers are prone to more tinkling, like those who are designers themselves who may try different concepts before they are satisfied. Thankfully, many customers also know each other in the Porsche community and would already agree to differentiate their Sonderwunsch car concepts beforehand.

Once he/she is content, another contract is signed which would bring the project to fruition. So far, there is a 100% conversion rate from the first contract to the second and Porsche doesn’t expect this to change.

Here, another price would be charged which would depend on the project scope. The typical Sonderwunsch project would cost 6-7 figures and would take around 1-3 years for development. For the really rare one-off creations, there is a waitlist of up to ten years.

Thus far, Porsche hasn’t reached the point of saying ‘no’ to any customer request at Sonderwunsch. Those who are on the Sonderwunsch route very much already embody the Porsche DNA and stick within the bounds of that identity. They’d feel part of the family too; as a Sonderwunsch customer they get an ID card to the facility so they can pop in anytime - like a team member or a colleague.

Chronicles of Sonderwunsch

Touring the Sonderwunsch factory is like stepping into a magical world that’s unseen except to the most privileged of eyes. The cars built here are commissioned by the world’s rich and famous, and many may not even see the light of day, whisked off to private garages after completion. For that reason we were not allowed to take any photos or videos during the tour.

The factory is generally very quiet and squeaky clean, and lies just a few hundred metres from the main production line at Zuffenhausen. Outside, its steel clad facade doesn’t give even a clue of what happens inside. Once you step in, you’ll see dozens upon dozens of unique cars that resemble an ensemble of a skunkworks workshop. No car is the same as the next one here.

Sonderwunsch has its own upholstery shop which is separate from the main production line. The process of reupholstering is fascinating. The original seat is first produced at the main line, complete and ready to be placed in any new car going to a customer. But if it’s destined for Sonderwunsch, it is then stripped down again at the Sonderwunsch upholstery shop and completely redone. The fabrics and/or the leather would be changed. The reason this is done is because every car goes through the same quality check at the end of production, and Sonderwunsch cars are no exception. A similar process is also carried out for customised rims. Therefore it stands to reason that there is no second set of seats or rims for a Sonderwunsch car.

Even exterior wrapping, which is commonly seen on Singapore cars, is done at a whole different level at Sonderwunsch. The whole complete car has to be dismantled first before the wrap commences. This ensures that all parts will receive a proper wrap that covers all surfaces. It takes approximately a week to put a wrap on. Thereafter, the car is assembled back again. The resulting quality is quite different - when you look at the inner parts of the doors for example, everything is wrapped with no sign of the original colour underneath.

Paint is a major eye-catcher for any car and thus for Sonderwunsch, it is of prime importance. The aforementioned PTS colours are actually 182 hues available off-the-rack on the Car Configurator. A new development is the availability of PTS Plus which can now be applied on the main assembly line as well, simplifying the process significantly. PTS Plus allows you to create your own colour and name it whatever you wish. With this streamlined production, we can expect to see a lot more Porsches wearing PTS Plus colours.

Jade by any other name

Since we’re on the topic of paint, it’s apt to start talking about the Taycan Turbo S Celestial Jade in detail. Logging a development time of around a year, the Celestial Jade is the brainchild of Clemens Negele, the Sonderwunsch employee tasked to oversee this project. Having worked in China before for a couple of years, Clemens is well-versed with the oriental element of jade.

In consultation with Porsche design legends like Grant Larson (Director Special Projects, Style Porsche) and Alexander Fabig (Vice President Individualisation and Classic), Clemens conceptualised Celestial Jade with full of symbolism from the region Porsche Asia Pacific operates in. The painstaking formation of jade gives it the unique patterns of colours that have a depth of complexity and sophistication. This was the inspiration for Celestial Jade’s one-of-a-kind paintwork.

It features Porsche’s first-ever Chromaflair paintwork with a colour gradient. A combination of green-gold Urban Bamboo at the front and blue-black Shifting Carbon at the rear, the paint has been applied by hand and took some 80 work hours to accomplish.

What’s Chromaflair, you may ask? It’s paint that contains thin flakes 50 times thinner than human hair that appear to shift in colour depending on the lighting and angle. The flakes consist of an opaque, reflective core layer of aluminium that is surrounded by a glass-like layer.

Up to 5 test body shells were used to develop and test the blend of the two paints, which is unprecedented. As it were, only one person on the Sonderwunsch team was found to have the ability to blend two Chromaflair paints.

Porsche figured out from this process that 8 segments of colours are required to make the blend look harmonious from front to back. Incredibly, it is not just the car that is painted with this gradient: the rear model designation, the ‘Electric’ side logos and even the key fob all receive the same treatment as well. On the key, 4 segments of colours were required.

The “Longma” (龙马)

There is a logo that features prominently on Celestial Jade’s door sill guards, door projectors and all headrests, and it is a combination of a dragon and a horse. 2024 is the year of the dragon, while the horse is in reference to the origin of the Taycan name, which means ‘young horse’. Additionally, a dragon’s head (龙) and the body of a horse (马) is a symbol of power and strength; it’s also said to bring luck.

Varnished for delicacy

The Taycan Turbo S already comes with Turbonite coloured carbon as standard, but these were deemed too brutal and raw for the Celestial Jade. Thus, varnished carbon was chosen instead, with its ability of its surface to shimmer in different hues. It features on the front bumper, side skirts, rear diffuser as well as the air blades on the wheels.

Leather to Sample

As a first for the Taycan model series, Porsche now offers Leather to Sample which gives an even greater scope of customisation for the Taycan’s interior. The Celestial Jade premieres this with a combination of the standard colour Slate Grey and English Green, which is a Leather to Sample option. Blending in beautifully with the stunning exterior, the elegant interior combination is a subtle nod to the eco-natural theme of Celestial Jade.

In total there are around 150 Leather to Sample colour options available. Like PTS Plus, there is also Leather to Sample Plus where any colour can be concocted.

All for good

With a seven figure price tag, the one-off Celestial Jade is very likely the priciest ever Taycan produced to date. However, Porsche is keen to point out that the money part of the equation is not the point here. Instead, it is challenging conventional thinking, paying tribute to Asian culture with one of the most elaborate Sonderwunsch projects ever conceived and at the same time, contributing back to society.

After a premiere in Singapore followed by a static tour around Southeast Asia, Celestial Jade will be auctioned off in the first quarter of 2025 and proceeds will go to a good cause. It’s a virtuous cycle that makes Celestial Jade a true trailblazer.

Photos by James Wong and Porsche AG

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