Porsche VIN specification
The ISO standard vehicle identification number was introduced for the Porsche model year 1981.
Decoding
VINs consist of 17 characters and for Porsche can be decoded as follows:-Vehicle Specification for USA etc (positions 4, 5 and 6)
VIN has been implemented differently in two regions, they consist of the following countries:-USA etc. = Countries that follow USA style VIN encoding include USA, Canada, Mexico, India, Kenya, Pakistan, China, Hong Kong, Macao, Brazil, Mexico, Middle East and South Korea. Note: Not all of these countries use the Check Digit value. Some of these countries transitioned from a ROW ZZZ encoding to USA style encoding during certain model years and/or models.
RoW = Rest of world.. These VINs include the "ZZZ" filler characters.
Vehicle Specification for "USA etc" is a 3 character code giving details of the body type, engine, seatbelts and airbags fitted.
Examples of model type codes (positions 7, 8 and 12)
On 2010+ North America market vehicles, the first digit will be 'A' instead of '9'- Cayenne = 9PA then 92A
- Panamera = 970
- Boxster = 986, 987, 981, A82, 982
- Cayman = 987, 981, A82, 982
- Carrera GT = 980
- 911 = 901, 930, 964, 993, 996, 997, 991, 992
- 924 = 924
- 924 Turbo = 931
- 924 Carrera GT/GTS/GTR = 937
- 928 = 928
- 944 = 944
- 944 Turbo = 951
- 959 = 959
- 968 = 968
- Taycan = Y1A, Y1B
Year codes (position 10)
More properly described as 'Model year'. While the code may indicate a particular year it may well be the 'model year' which could be the subsequent year, for instance a 1994 registered vehicle may well be a model year 1995 on the VIN/chassis number.| Code | Year | --- | Code | Year | --- | Code | Year | --- | Code | Year | --- | Code | Year |
| L | 1990 | Y | 2000 | A | 2010 | L | 2020 | ||||||
| B | 1981 | M | 1991 | 1 | 2001 | B | 2011 | M | 2021 | ||||
| C | 1982 | N | 1992 | 2 | 2002 | C | 2012 | N | 2022 | ||||
| D | 1983 | P | 1993 | 3 | 2003 | D | 2013 | P | 2023 | ||||
| E | 1984 | R | 1994 | 4 | 2004 | E | 2014 | R | 2024 | ||||
| F | 1985 | S | 1995 | 5 | 2005 | F | 2015 | S | 2025 | ||||
| G | 1986 | T | 1996 | 6 | 2006 | G | 2016 | T | 2026 | ||||
| H | 1987 | V | 1997 | 7 | 2007 | H | 2017 | V | 2027 | ||||
| J | 1988 | W | 1998 | 8 | 2008 | J | 2018 | W | 2028 | ||||
| K | 1989 | X | 1999 | 9 | 2009 | K | 2019 | X | 2029 |
Factory codes (position 11)
| Code | Factory | Notes | Models produced |
| S | Zuffenhausen - Germany | Includes occasional production from Weissach. | All 911s. Minority of 986 Boxsters, 987 Boxster/Cayman and 981 Boxster. 549 of the 1991 944s, as well as all 924 Carrera GTS/GTR. Majority of 968s. All Taycans. |
| N | Neckarsulm - Germany. | Audi factory | Majority of 924 and 944s. Minority of 1992 968s. |
| L | Leipzig - Germany. | All Cayenne, Panamera and Carrera GT. | |
| U | Uusikaupunki - Finland. | Valmet Automotive factory. | Majority of 986 Boxsters and 987 Boxster/Cayman. |
| K | Osnabrück - Germany. | VW factory, ex-Karmann, hence the "K" | All 981 Caymans. Majority of 981 Boxsters. |
| D | Bratislava - Slovakia. | VW factory | Cayennes |
Model Configuration Code (position 13)
A leading "0" usually means standard coupé, for the RoW markets. For the 944 and 968, US cars are usually identified by a leading "5". 944 convertibles have a leading "3" or "8". Sometimes this model code extends into the 14th digit, such as for the 968 CS which had chassis numbers beginning with "15".Examples
WP0ZZZ94ZFN40**** a 944.WP0ZZZ98Z7U770439**** a Cayman
WP0ZZZ92ZGN40**** a 924S.
WP1ZZZ9PZ8LA7**** a Cayenne.
WP0ZZZ96ZRS81**** a 968.
WP0ZZZ99Z5S73**** a 911.
WP0ZZZ97ZAL08**** a Panamera.
WP0ZZZ98Z4L00**** a Carrera GT.
WP0ZZZ98Z8U72**** a Boxster S.
WP0ZZZ99Z5S76**** a 911 C2S Convertible.
WP0ZZZ99Z2S64**** a 911 C4 convertible.
WP1AF2A51FLB9**** a Macan Turbo
WP0ZZZ95ZJS90**** a 959
WP1ZZZ9YZLDA3**** a Cayenne E-hybrid
WP0ZZZ99ZKS12**** a Targa 4 GTS
WP0AA2Y18NSA1**** a 2022 Taycan sedan, RWD, for North America
External
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