Before we question the intelligence of providing the powers that control highway speeds with a way to be personally identified from a helicopter hundreds of feet above, Porsche’s latest offering is actually pretty impressive.
Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur can now paint your fingerprint on the hood of any 911 for only €7,500 ($11,100 CAD). The word paint, however, probably isn’t apropos, being that it uses a new direct printing method developed by Porsche. Once a fingerprint is scanned, it’s transformed into a digital graphic and then being printed onto the hood of a 911.
Porsche says it’ll be able to add your fingerprint to other panels in the future, as well as other customer-specified designs, although the exclusive service is limited to the 911’s hood for the time being due to the relative ease of unbolting the hood from its hinges and the requirement of having the body panel taken off.
Once removed, a robot is used to apply the biometric print is applied to the hood, after which a clear coat is added overtop for protection. Finally, the entire hood gets polished to a high-gloss finish. When complete, Porsche says its direct printing process will result in a finish that’s superior to the 911’s already high-quality stock paint finishes, in terms of look and feel.
“The operating principle is similar to that of an inkjet printer: using a print head, the paint is applied to three-dimensional components automatically and without overspray. ‘The ability to control the nozzles individually permits targeted application of every paint droplet,’ commented Christian Will, Vice President Production Development at Porsche AG. ‘The complexity is due to the necessity of harmonizing three technologies: robot technology (control, sensors, programming), application technology (print head, graphic handling) and paint technology (application process, paint).’”
The new fingerprint service is now available from Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, albeit only within the German market. This said there’s nothing stopping a 911 owner from shipping his or her hood to Germany for the upgrade.
Story credits: Trevor Hofmann
Photo credits: Porsche