Porsche's online 911 GT3 configurator lets you create your dream key fob, floor mats and owner's manual pouch
Feel like wasting some time? We've got just the thing.
The new GT3 looks great, but we're not here to talk about what's on the outside.
I spend a lot of my free time (and a lot of my I'm-at-work-and-should-be-working time) fiddling with the various online configurators that each automaker offers, especially for newly revealed models. Porsche's configurator is one of the best out there, with detailed 3D models and tons of available options, so when the new 911 GT3 was unveiled yesterday, I opened my browser to whip up my dream GT3. But nothing could have prepared me for what I would discover.
When you scroll down to the Interior tab, there are all sorts of options from colored seat belts to a fire extinguisher and even a child seat attachment. One must-have option is the "vehicle key painted in exterior color with leather key pouch," because obviously your 911's key has to match the car itself. Previously, choosing this option triggered a pop-up with a list of available colors for the key pouch's stitching; you selected one and it brought you back to the main configurator screen. But not anymore. Now, clicking the option brings up an entire separate screen with a configurator just for the key fob and the pouch. Can you believe?
Porsche continues to innovate.
You get to select from 33 different paint colors for the "side bolsters" of the key, and the configurator shows shades from the entire Porsche palette, not just the GT3's somewhat limited selection. (I have to assume that this special configurator will be universal across all models once the configurators get updated.) Then, you can choose from 24 different leather colors for the key pouch, with the ability to make the pouch's main body, side bolsters and lanyard all different. Finally, there are a whopping 39 different available shades for the decorative stitching. And if this weren't enough, the image of the key fob that the configurator shows is a highly detailed 3D model that you can rotate and zoom into. And people say that modern technology has ruined sports cars!
If your floor mats aren't customized, get out of my face.
I know your mind is probably pretty blown right now, but oh, it gets better. Scroll down to the Interior Leather tab, and you'll see an option for "personalized floor mats with leather edging." Yup, you can configure your dream floor mats, complete with another detailed 3D model. The carpeting is available in 12 colors, while the leather edging and the metal inlays with leather lamination are offered in the same 24 shades available on the key fob pouch. And the 39 different stitching options are present, of course.
But Porsche didn't stop there. Do you see the "vehicle documentation folder in leather"? That's right, you can also customize the leather folder that houses your new GT3's owner's manual and other documents, selecting from those same 24 leather colors and 39 stitching options. And if you want your vehicle key in leather instead of paint, there's a separate configurator for that as well.
Obviously your owner's manual needs to be pampered, too.
I did have to use the UK configurator because the US Porsche website hasn't yet been updated to include the GT3, but 99% of the options will be identical for the US-market car. The US configurator for the 911 Turbo offers these same options, just without the superdetailed configurators, so we can glean pricing from there. The painted vehicle key with the leather pouch costs $540, and the leather key is $690. The leather owner's manual wallet is $560, while the personalized floor mats are the most expensive of these options at $990.
That might all seem frivolous and pricey for such minor stuff that most people will never notice or care about, but that's not the point. The people actually buying these Porsches do notice and care, and they want their cars to be special. So what's another couple grand on top of the $150,000 (or more) that you're already spending on your new GT3? It's a small price to pay for knowing you have a key fob unlike any other.
