This Matching BMW M3 Touring and Porsche 911 Might Be the Perfect Two-Car Garage

Key Points

• Enthusiast matched BMW M3 Touring to a Porsche 911 Targa 4S in Macadamia Metallic.
• Customization details include color-matched exteriors, interior trims, and features mirroring the Porsche.
• High-end personalized car pairings are costly but can hold deep personal meaning for owners.

The perfect two-car garage typically combines a versatile daily driver with a more performance-oriented car for weekends. These two cars ordinarily have little in common, as they serve entirely different purposes. However, one enthusiast who owns a BMW M3 Touring and a Porsche 911 (997.2) Targa 4S took things a step further by commissioning his BMW to perfectly match the Porsche’s spec. The result is one of the most spectacular and unexpected two-car pairings we’ve come across.

Two Fast Germans in Macadamia Metallic

This BMW-Porsche pairing was shared this past weekend by PTSRS, with the two cars situated in Belgium. The cars belong to Louis Van Bavel, a reader of the publication. Both are finished in stunning Macadamia Metallic, a special shade currently offered via Porsche’s Paint to Sample program or through BMW Individual.

The 911 Targa 4S was originally ordered by Van Bavel’s mother in 2008, when it was specced in Macadamia Metallic with a black/Sand Beige interior. It was sold five years later, before coming up for sale again in 2020. Van Bavel recognized the car and bought it back from the second owner, when it was sitting on Turbo replica wheels. However, he managed to buy back the original Carrera Sport wheels.

Years after this Targa originally rolled off the production line, BMW launched the M3 Touring, and Van Bavel decided it would make a nice addition to his collection. That’s when he had the idea to commission the BMW in the distinctive brown shade as a homage to the Porsche. To match the 911 as closely as possible, the M3 Touring was specified with optional red brake calipers and a body-color roof and mirrors. He also specified clear glass instead of privacy glass, and aluminum trim for the windows and roof rails. 

Inside, this M3 Touring has BMW Individual black/Midrand Beige full Merino leather with Criollo Brown stitching and Piano Black trim. It’s got to be one of the most striking M3 Touring specifications out there—but it looks especially impactful parked alongside the matching Porsche.

Not the First Matching Collector-Car Pairing

Like Van Bavel, enthusiast Michael Fux also had the idea to have two different cars in his collection finished in matching colors. Back in 2017, Fux discovered a vibrant fuchsia-colored flower during the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance, so he asked Rolls-Royce and McLaren to build cars finished in this color. The McLaren 720S and Rolls-Royce Dawn pairing is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, complete with white-finished interiors. The contrast of the majestic Rolls and the track-specialized McLaren in the same spec is as dramatic as the BMW and Porsche.

While both projects are impressive, this level of customization can cost more than many people can spend on a new car. For instance, Porsche’s Paint to Sample Plus option on the current 911 can cost $40,990 on its own—the cost of a new midsize SUV. Brands like McLaren and Rolls-Royce don’t publish prices for options, but these cars are known to easily cost $100,000 more than the base price once fully customized. 

Van Bavel’s BMW-Porsche duo goes beyond pricey personalization simply for the sake of it. It tells a personal story and the two cars are as special individually as they are together.