SIGNAL GREEN WITH ENVY

Given the position of the 964 iteration of the Porsche 911 somewhere in the middle of the complex mêlée that is the 911's family tree, it is little wonder that this 20-year old model is often overshadowed by the aesthetic purity of its oldest ancestors and the technological prowess of its youngest progeny.

But what's a girl to do when her star's on the wane and her once glamorous demeanour fails to elicit even the most cursory of second glances? The answer: put on her best frock - preferably in a beguilingly vivid hue - and paint the town red, or in this case green. This far from subtle tactic certainly worked for the 964 yesterday, as this example, resplendent in its original Signal Green, sashayed out from the parking garage of an exclusive department store in central Tokyo. It may only have been a bog-standard Carrera 2, but its captivating green lustre (surely one of Porsche's finest experiments with the paint palette) ensured that it was elevated far above the mundane, upstaging the far more au courant exotica that littered the VIP parking area with their prosaic shades of grey and black.

This charismatic appearance of a 964 in such a captivating colour, although fleeting, also succeeded in catapulting the model to the upper echelons of my Porsche wish list, and had me rabidly scouring the classifieds for a suitably green example. All efforts were however to prove futile, as not only do I lack the financial wherewithal to purchase even the most world weary of 964s, but Signal Green 964s appear to be as elusive as fairy dust. While there is an apparent plethora of 964 Carrera 2s in various shades of silver, black, red and grey, the more florid colours of the spectrum appear to be the preserve of the highly desirable but terrifyingly dear Carrera RS models. A search through the classifieds does however reveal an alternative selection of intriguing hues almost comparable to Signal Green in their compelling exuberance. How about Rubystone Red, Maritime Blue, Mint Green, or even Gulf Blue?

Gulf Blue

Maritime Blue and Rubystone Red

Signal Green and Rubystone Red

Mint Green

Postscript: As I was not fast enough on the draw with my camera to capture the car in question, the photographs in this post are of the Signal Green 964 Carrera 2 owned by Japanese automotive journalist, Takumi Yoshida, and are taken from his official blog.