Glacier White: The White the Early 996 Wore First

Carrara White is the white most people name when they talk about a 996. It was not the first. For the 1998 and 1999 model years, Porsche's solid white was Glacier White — Firnweiß on the German build sheet — a cool, quiet white. On the 996 it gave way to Carrara White after those first years.

If your narrow-body Carrera is a 1998 or 1999 and it is white, the label is much more likely to say this color than Carrara.

What Glacier White actually is

Glacier White (Firnweiß) is a solid, non-metallic white. No pearl, no flake. Next to Carrara White it reads a little cooler and a little more openly white. Next to Grand Prix White it is softer, less like a blank race panel. The German name fits: firn is the old snow on a glacier, and the color has that same clean, slightly cold cast.

Porsche listed two paint codes for it on the 996, because the factory was running water-based and conventional paints side by side. 3AU is the water-based code, 3AT the conventional one. They are the same color. The 996 Carrera poster carries 3AT, in line with the conventional codes on the rest of that car: 80K, 12G, 747, 92E. If your label says L3AU or L3AT, it is this white.

Which cars wore it

On the 996 it belongs to the 1998 and 1999 model years. Carrara White, code b9a, is the white of the years after that. In the Heckblick catalog Glacier White is on the 996 Carrera only — the narrow, naturally aspirated car.

White on cream, once more

A white car on a cream poster is the same problem I describe on the Grand Prix White and Carrara White pages. The shape has to come from tonal planes, not from an outline, and the white has to sit just apart from the paper. Glacier White is tuned for that relationship on the Hahnemühle fine art paper I print on. The validated value is #F7F8FA.

Put your Glacier White 996 on the wall

If you drive a Glacier White 996 Carrera, the color is in the configurator now. Add your VIN and build year, and I personally review every order before it goes to print.

Glacier White on a different model? Send me a message. Custom builds are part of the offer.