Porsche has its own language. Most drivers never need to learn it. But Porsche enthusiasts read badges, wheel designs, and stripes like shibboleths. While some of us casually note the Porsche 911 in traffic, Porsche purists marvel that it’s the stealthy Touring version of the 911 GT3 in a paint-to-sample color the owner must have ordered through the Exclusive Manufaktur program, with 3D-printed custom seats, possibly one of a kind.
Porsche is leaning into this hidden-in-plain-sight code that provides fun for longtime fans. The company has released a special badge just for turbocharged models.
The change is subtle enough that most people won’t notice it. But future Porsche Turbo models will wear the usual rising-horse-and-deer-antlers crest in a unique color scheme.
You can spot the badge by its “new Turbonite color, rather than gold,” Porsche explains. Turbonite is an element on the periodic table found between imaginite and theymadethatupium. Porsche describes it as an “elegant metallic grey tone” and says it will also appear “on a number of other selected exterior and interior components, lending the Turbo models an even more unmistakable appearance.”
It will also appear on any lettering on the rear of Turbo models and the side window surrounds. “Depending on the model line, further details such as the inlays in the front fascia, the spokes, or the aeroblades in light alloy wheels could feature Turbonite paintwork,” Porsche says.
The upcoming third-generation Porsche Panamera will debut later this month and will be the first model to get separate badges for turbocharged models.
