A Unique Porsche Collection in the Rare Moonstone Shade

Collector Justin Roeser traces Porsche’s rare Moonstone color, assembling 911, 924 and 928 models and uncovering its mysterious origins in Europe.

It started with a photo. A 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo in an unusual lilac shade popped up in a classifieds ad. Justin Roeser from Texas froze. He couldn’t buy the car — too expensive — but the color lingered in his mind like the memory of childhood candy.

That color was Moonstone — or “Flieder,” as it’s known in Germany — and it became his obsession. Between 1979 and 1980, Porsche painted only 223 cars in it. Just 18 were 911s, 196 were 924s, and only nine were 928s. That made the hunt feel like a treasure quest.

Today, Roeser owns one of each: a 924, a 911 SC Targa, and, at last, a 928 — which he named Oli. But for him, owning them wasn’t enough. He had to understand the color, where it came from, what it meant. And so began a 10,000-kilometer road trip through Europe. Not just a drive, but a journey into the past.

His destination? Stuttgart, where designer Vlasta Hatter — the very woman behind Moonstone — was waiting. Hatter revealed the truth: the color was inspired by the lilac flowers blooming in May. Its dreamy, shape-shifting look came from pigments that are now banned. That detail only made it feel more like a lost spell than a paint option.

Along the way, Oli the 928 broke down in Rimini. A busted ignition cable brought the car — and Roeser — to a sudden stop. But then came serendipity: a nearby MotoGP race, a chance repair, and a renewed connection. “It was like the spark came back — literally,” he said.

Later, in France, Roeser joined friends for the delightfully chaotic “Croissant Rally.” It was unplanned, spontaneous, and his favorite day of the whole journey. But even that didn’t top the surreal moment of finding a near-identical 928 — same shade, same shimmer — parked beside his.

In the end, it wasn’t about rare cars. It was about the thrill of the search, the stories hiding in colors, and the strange alignment of events. The fact that Moonstone debuted the same year Roeser was born — 1979 — feels, to him, like more than coincidence.

This wasn’t just collecting. It was destiny, painted in lilac.