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March 2023 - The Birth of the Cayman

While we were busy having fun with our wacky crew selection schtick, other things were also afoot. In the remote workings of Porsche AG, the gears of the production process were starting to creak forward.

On March 6, I notice a slight change in the dates on the Track-Your-Dream app:

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 6, 2023, 10:14 PM
more slight TYD changes:

Slight shifts in the scheduled dates for the production of the Cayman.


From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 6, 2023, 10:15 PM
freeze date retroactively went back to March 3 (from March 6)

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 6, 2023, 10:15 PM
and my manufacturing started date has moved up one day from March 23 to March 22

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 6, 2023, 10:15 PM
Manufacturing completion also moved up one day from March 30 to March 29

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 6, 2023, 10:16 PM
Feels like things are simmering at least somewhat below the implacable facade.

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 6, 2023, 10:17 PM
Car should start being built in exactly 2 weeks starting from tomorrow.

From: Luke Ward - Mar 6, 2023, 10:44 PM
So odd, all the changing back and forth

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 6, 2023, 10:45 PM
I think of it as the needle of an old analog speedometer, quivering back and forth a bit but giving you essential gist of things

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 6, 2023, 10:45 PM
I wonder if this is automation doing the refining / adjusting, or someone manually doing it

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 6, 2023, 10:45 PM
it's really impossible to know


Then, about a week later, Luke gets a little status update of his own, about the Boxster:

From: Luke Ward - Mar 14, 2023, 10:44 AM
Lookie lookie.

Luke's Boxster's advances to the internal "V215 - Locked by PAG" status.


From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 14, 2023, 11:24 AM
aha

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 14, 2023, 11:24 AM
that's good


Things start to happen more rapidly over the next few days. Not 48 hours later, this happens:

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 16, 2023, 8:36 AM
my dates are stable (no change, just checked)

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 16, 2023, 8:37 AM
oh wait

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 16, 2023, 8:37 AM
wait wait

Andrew's Cayman advances to status"V220", which means "Selected for Production". woot!


From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 16, 2023, 8:38 AM
"V220 - Vehicle selected for production"

From: Luke Ward - Mar 16, 2023, 8:38 AM
Oh ho!!!

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 16, 2023, 8:40 AM
The "top line" dates on the main page haven't changed - Production start is still showing as March 22. but something is happening underneath...


And then, five days later, an update that makes my heart skip a beat - a VIN number!

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 21, 2023, 8:53 AM
oho

Andrew's Cayman advances to status"V250", which means "Vehicle Fixed for Production".


From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 21, 2023, 8:54 AM
I have moved ahead another notch. now appear to have a VIN number

From: Luke Ward - Mar 21, 2023, 8:54 AM
A VIN!!!

From: Luke Ward - Mar 21, 2023, 8:54 AM
Nice!

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 21, 2023, 8:55 AM
manufacture done date has moved:

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 21, 2023, 8:55 AM
now it says Apr 4 (previously it said March 29)

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 21, 2023, 8:58 AM
My take is that they have now really really slotted a spot in the assembly line and that's where it fell

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 21, 2023, 8:59 AM
I'm guessing it won't really start getting built tomorrow. Sometime late next week I guess.

From: Luke Ward - Mar 21, 2023, 9:00 AM
Yeah, the more things get real the more accurate the dates get

From: Luke Ward - Mar 21, 2023, 9:00 AM
But you must feel pretty good right now :-)



Indeed I was feeling pretty good - kind of a bit numb, really, that I was finally at that point, almost three years from setting out on this journey, of actually being at the point where my initial efforts were actually causing a dream sportscar to be custom-built, just for me.

My estimate of "next week" turned out to be pretty accurate, because on March 28....

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 28, 2023, 12:26 PM
and, as expected....

The TYD app directly now says "The manufacturing process of your Porsche has now started."


Andrew's Cayman advances to status"V260", which technically stands for "Vehicle entry to body shop".


From: Luke Ward - Mar 28, 2023, 12:32 PM
V260 is vehicle has entered the body shop?

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 28, 2023, 12:35 PM
yes

From: Luke Ward - Mar 28, 2023, 12:35 PM
It's real now sir

From: Luke Ward - Mar 28, 2023, 12:37 PM
I think there's just the one photo at this stage ... the shell coming out of the paint shop

Andrew's Cayman, exiting body shop
Exciting! And Luke's last message - the one about the photo in the paint shop: he is referring to the fact that as part of the manufacturing process, Porsche has cameras positioned at various points and takes a picture of each car (or at least the ones which are custom-ordered to a particular customer, like ours are). And the first of these photos, as we'd seen from threads in online forums, is of the car's metal bodyshell, on a conveyor system, exiting the body shop fully painted. And indeed, a couple of days after the V260 code was first spotted, I did indeed see the very first picture of my car. A gleaming form of deep, pure red, ultra-glossy under the white factory lights.

Amazing. I share the newly-discovered photos with Luke:

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 31, 2023, 9:09 AM
how is your morning?

From: Luke Ward - Mar 31, 2023, 9:12 AM
Fine, why?

From: Luke Ward - Mar 31, 2023, 9:13 AM
Oh my

From: Luke Ward - Mar 31, 2023, 9:13 AM
Just look at that gorgeousness

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 31, 2023, 9:14 AM
that aint guard's red

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 31, 2023, 9:14 AM
let me see if there are more pics

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 31, 2023, 9:15 AM
yep - there are more

From: Luke Ward - Mar 31, 2023, 9:15 AM
In that light it is so much richer than guards.


I return to the Track-Your-Dream app and look for more pictures. Indeed there are: two more of my Cayman partway through the manufacturing process. One is with the car on an accordion-hoist, with the interior fitted but with none of the drivetrain or suspension components.
Andrew's Cayman, Production #2
From this second shot I can see that the carmine-red stitching that was part of my build is indeed in place; I can see a bit of it on the edge of the dashboard, which was now in place. The glass had now been fitted and the wiring harnesses seemed to be in place. The drivetrain (engine, transmission), the suspension and the brakes were not installed yet.
Andrew's Cayman, Production #3
The third shot shows my Cayman hanging from an overhead trolley system. The shot is a bit dark, but with a bit of judicious brightening in Lightroom, I can bring out a fair bit of extra detail. The car now appeared to have the suspension installed, and I am guessing that it also had the drivetrain in place now. All of the bumpers and bits of trim seemed to be in place. The car was pretty close to main assembly complete at this point. We did notice that the washer turrets (the little bump directly in front of the headlamps) were still painted in flat black - even though we had specified them in Carmine Red. We suspected that these little custom items were handled post-assembly in a special area where they complete little details like that.

And then (obviously), I went back into the app and see if there was a final picture. And there was. And there *it* was - my car, completely assembled save for a few small trim bits. My car. My Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0. Completed. Wow.
Andrew's Cayman, End of Production
From: Luke Ward - Mar 31, 2023, 9:32 AM
Oh wow. I thought this would perhaps come a day or so later.

From: Luke Ward - Mar 31, 2023, 9:32 AM
Look at that beauty.

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 31, 2023, 9:33 AM
yep. It is, isn't it.

From: Luke Ward - Mar 31, 2023, 9:35 AM
Those wheels look amazing

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 31, 2023, 9:35 AM
yep

From: Andrew Lavigne - Mar 31, 2023, 9:36 AM
and the red calipers with the Carmine Red looks totally fine

From: Luke Ward - Mar 31, 2023, 9:36 AM
Yes, no issue there


Some interesting stats from the above pictures. The first shot, coming out of the body shop, was taken on Thursday March 30 at 7:19pm. About nine hours later, the second shot was taken (with the wiring harness, glass, and dashboard), on Friday March 31 at 4:33 am. And then the third shot was taken only four hours later, at 8:33 am. And by 10:17 am, the car was assembled and ready for final touches. In all, it appeared that the main production process, from paint all the way to essentially-complete assembly, took less than 24 hours.

The rest of the day (I was at work that day) was a bit of a daze. All of those years of waiting and then - poof - in the space of less than a day - my car goes from a vaporware dream to physical reality. It was scarcely too much to believe. (I should stop here for a moment and acknowledge that we were talking about a car here - a mechanical conveyance device that in the grand scheme of the world, with all of its troubles, was not that important. It was the power of our particular passion - and the process to get them - that made this so special to us).

Later that night, the Track-your-dream datastream showed what I already knew from pictures: my order status had gone to V300 (vehicle production complete). I did not see any intermediate stages between V260 and V300 (e.g. V270 - Vehicle exit production), but maybe that flashed by during the hours I wasn't checking. For reference, here is how my Cayman's order status progressed, from allocation through to end of production:

Jan 02: V200, Dates: Freeze 2023-03-02, Mfr Start 2023-03-23, Mfr Complete 2023-04-02, ED not specified
Feb 01: V200, Dates: Freeze 2023-03-02, Mfr Start 2023-03-23, Mfr Complete 2023-04-02, ED 2023-07-20
Feb 09: V200, Dates: Freeze 2023-03-02, Mfr Start 2023-03-23, Mfr Complete 2023-03-30, ED 2023-07-20
Feb 23: V215, Dates: Freeze 2023-03-02, Mfr Start 2023-03-23, Mfr Complete 2023-03-30, ED 2023-07-20
Mar 01: V215, Dates: Freeze 2023-03-05, Mfr Start 2023-03-23, Mfr Complete 2023-03-30, ED 2023-07-20
Mar 06: V215, Dates: Freeze 2023-03-03, Mfr Start 2023-03-22, Mfr Complete 2023-03-29, ED 2023-07-20
Mar 16: V220, Dates: Freeze 2023-03-03, Mfr Start 2023-03-22, Mfr Complete 2023-03-29, ED 2023-07-20
Mar 22: V250, Dates: Freeze 2023-03-03, Mfr Start 2023-03-22, Mfr Complete 2023-04-04, ED 2023-07-20, VIN=WP0AD2A83PS271450
Mar 28: V260, Dates: Freeze 2023-03-03, Mfr Start 2023-03-28, Mfr Complete 2023-04-04, ED 2023-07-20, VIN=WP0AD2A83PS271450
Mar 31: V260: Dates: Freeze 2023-03-03, Mfr Start 2023-03-28, Mfr Complete 2023-04-04, ED 2023-07-20, VIN=WP0AD2A83PS271450, PICTURES!!!
Mar 31: V300: Dates: Freeze 2023-03-03, Mfr Start 2023-03-28, Mfr Complete 2023-03-31, ED 2023-07-20, VIN=WP0AD2A83PS271450


You can see that, although there was a little bit of back-and-forth at certain points, mostly the initially-predicted dates were fairly accurate (basically to within a few days). Hopefully Luke's Boxster, still two months away from being produced, would at least be similarly accurate.

Finally, the TYD (Track Your Dream) app now showed this happy paragraph:

Next step: 2023-07-20
05 Experience your European Delivery in Leipzig
A Porsche factory delivery is an experience for all your senses. Start the day with a small breakfast in our customer lounge. At lunchtime, treat yourself to an exquisite three-course meal at our restaurant - although on the day of delivery, we imagine you may be too excited to think about food. We join you in celebrating the big reveal as we introduce you to your new Porsche for the first time. Our dedicated employees will provide you with detailed information about your new vehicle and are looking forward to a specialist discussion on an equal footing - from one Porsche enthusiast to another, so to speak. The best experience will be when you start the engine for the first time in your very own Porsche. Have a good journey.

Days later, while continuing to monitor the TYD app, I saw this bit of info: 
{
   "currentLocation":{
      "type":"path",
      "ident":"PlantZuffenhausen_PlantLeipzig"
   },
   "end":{
      "ident":"PlantLeipzig",
      "lat":"51.405770",
      "lng":"12.296531"
   },
   "ident":"PlantLeipzig",
   "lat":"51.405770",
   "lng":"12.296531"
}


And indeed, looking at the TYD map, I saw:

My Cayman is quickly moved from the factory in Stuttgart to our chosen delivery center, in Leipzig.


So that was it. My car had clearly finished with any final touches, had been loaded onto transport, and whisked away to the Eastern German city of Leipzig, where Porsche has its other major manufacturing center. Here it would now sit in the corner of some large parking area, patiently awaiting the grand unveiling, which was now only one hundred and eight days away.

Luke and I were of course happy with the rapid build and movement of the Cayman. It boded well for the Boxster, which was still a full two months away from being built. We did regress a touch, though, expressing some frustrations about not being able to do anything about such a large spread in build times, and its effect on our delivery date. Ultimately, we did realize that at this point, it would be too troublesome for the dates to move. We were just a bit wistful, I guess, about what could have been (uncrowded roads, easier accommodations, maybe meeting up with Dave in Europe, etc):

From: Luke Ward - Apr 4, 2023, 12:37 PM
So I bet that somewhere, sitting in Leipzig right now, is a Carmine Red GTS 4.0, complete with stickers, red nipples, and centre caps.

From: Andrew Lavigne - Apr 4, 2023, 12:48 PM
Hopefully nicely tucked away in the corner of a big garage

From: Andrew Lavigne - Apr 4, 2023, 12:48 PM
For its 3+ month wait

From: Luke Ward - Apr 4, 2023, 12:48 PM
Yeah, that's painful

From: Luke Ward - Apr 4, 2023, 12:49 PM
I mean how hard would it have been to have given me an earlier Boxster slot?

From: Andrew Lavigne - Apr 4, 2023, 12:50 PM
I'm guessing not that hard

From: Andrew Lavigne - Apr 4, 2023, 12:52 PM
we may never know, but it may be one of or a combination of: - lack of effort/care on the part of our dealer - beauracracy at Porsche somewhere that is not set up to handle special requests like these - some sort of push-back or lockout from those who are more important than us

From: Luke Ward - Apr 4, 2023, 12:52 PM
Yeah, for whatever reason, not grasping the concept of two simultaneous European deliveries

From: Andrew Lavigne - Apr 4, 2023, 12:52 PM
(as in, maybe this does happen frequently but we are low on the get-a-free-slot list)

From: Andrew Lavigne - Apr 4, 2023, 12:53 PM
Anyway as much as I would love even a few weeks earlier, it would be a logistic pain for us to move things earlier at this point. Perhaps not impossible, but quite troublesome.


And finally, to celebrate such an extremely important milestone in The GTS Chronicles journey, I put together something for the Instagram feed that was kitschy and which captured the 'momentousness' of the moment. (Hopefully you are a Star Wars fan, or this may go over your head). You can watch it on Instagram here, or directly in this webpage (below):

The GTS Chronicles IG Post 067 - "Cayman V300"
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