Between 1978 and 1980 Porsche offered a pale shade of purple called Moonstone (also called Flieder or Lilac), and a Texas-based artist has made it his wildly obsessive life’s mission to track down the full story about this ridiculous color. We’ve discussed Justin Roeser and his purple Porsche lunacy before, but it’s getting stronger. He recently took off on a trip around Europe with occasional Jalopnik contributor Kevin McCauley in his own one-of-two known surviving Moonstone Porsche 928s to track down some other Moonstone Porsche owners, and the pair also took a trip through the Porsche archives in Stuttgart with the goal of better understanding this rare shade and what makes it so compelling. 

Like many of history’s great artists, the genius of Moonstone was not recognized in its day. During the transition period from vintage single-stage paints to modern water-based pigments, Porsche tried a few unique shades, and Moonstone was among its least successful attempts. Very few cars were sold new with Moonstone paint, so much so that even people who own Moonstone cars have never seen another. Just a handful of each the 924, 928, and 911 production in the late 1970s were painted in this unique shade. It’s so pale that you might be forgiven for thinking it’s white, but this shade is all about the transition. 

The 26-minute mini-documentary tracks down a small bundle of surviving Moonstone machines in Europe, including the only other 928 known to remain. While it is now Moonstone again following a thorough restoration and re-spray, the original owner was chided by his friends in the late 1970s for buying a “girlie” color and the threat of a non-masculine perception forced him to paint his then-four-week old car white. 

There is something to be said for subtle beauty. A car doesn’t have to beat your rods and cones into submission for it to be a bold and creative color choice. Many Porsche nerds would be ecstatic to drive around in one of the company’s many bold colorways, like Miami Blue, Viper Green or Lava Orange, but it takes a special type of person to truly appreciate the greatness that is Moonstone. When you want something that might pass for boring old white under direct noonday sunlight, but slips into something a little more comfortable as the evening gloaming descends, maybe this is the right shade for you. 

All these years later, Porsche has somewhat revived Moonstone with a bit more purple to it in a new special-order shade called Moongem, and if you want even more purple, check out the new Macan EV, 911 or Taycan in a color the company calls Provence. Those aren’t good enough for Justin, though, he’d rather stick with the original Moonstone. Maybe his obsession borders on unhealthy, but Moonstone is so much more interesting than whatever white/black/gray/silver your car is painted. You could stand to let a little more color into your life, you know?