Porsche cars have always been available in many, many variants (Carrera, cabriolet, targa, turbo, RS, speedster) in a dazzling array of colours and in specifications to match particular geographies (for example, cars intended for warmer climates often have smaller batteries).

With the links above you can now check the meaning of a particular Option Code, match a colour code and determine if any particular Porsche was made specifically for your country.

You can discover the specification, details, driving impressions and more for every road-going Porsche car at PorscheArchive.

A fully researched directory of Porsche Suppliers and Resources is available at PorscheFile (one each for UK, US, Australia and Germany).

Porsche VIN Decoder

Understanding your 17-digit VIN

VIN Position Description Meaning
1 Country Germany
2 Manufacturer P=Porsche;0=RUF Automobile GmbH
3 Model type O=Sports Car;0=Sports Car;1=SUV;I=SUV;9=Performance Enhanced Sports Car
4 Body type* A=Coupe;B=Targa;C=Cabriolet;D=Targa;E=Targa or Cabriolet;J=Coupe
5 Engine type* A=Normally aspirated;B=Normally aspirated;C=Normally aspirated;D=Turbo;J=Turbo
6 Restraint type* 0=No airbags;1=Driver only airbag;2=Driver & passenger airbags
7-8 Vehicle type First two digits of model type (eg 98 for Boxster)
9 Check digit US and Canada; Z for RoW
10 Year made A=1980;B=1981;C=1982;D=1983;E=1984;F=1985;G=1986;H=1987;J=1988;K=1989;L=1990;M=1991;N=1992;P=1993;R=1994;S=1995;T=1996;V=1997;W=1998;X=1999;Y=2000;1=2001;2=2002;3=2003;4=2004;5=2005;6=2006;7=2007;8=2008;9=2009
11 Assembly plant L=Leipzig
N=Neckarsulm
P=Pfaffenhausen
S=Stuttgart
U=Uusikaupunki (Finland)
12 Vehicle type Third digit of model type (eg 6 for Boxster)
13 Engine/body type USA designation (always Z in RoW)
14-17 Serial number Sequential production number
*only in US/Canada - always 'Z' in RoW

 

The Porsche VIN or Vehicle Identification Number is an internationally recognized format that uniquely identifies every vehicle