Black to Gold

What started as a routine respray turned into a full-blown visual reinvention for LA-based Nick Londy’s 1984 Porsche 911. With photographer and designer Webb Bland at the helm, joined by Sera Trimble, the once tired, rally-worn black Carrera has emerged with a shimmering black-to-gold gradient that feels made for the California desert.

After 40,000 hard miles dulled its original paintwork, the car received fresh lacquer and PPF before Bland pushed the project into far more imaginative territory. Dozens of digital mock-ups later, the team settled on a diagonal fade: deep black at the nose dissolving into radiant gold at the tail. Even the Fuchs wheels echo the transition with matching powder-coated tones. Head-on, it looks like it means business; from behind, it simply glows.

There’s sentiment woven into the design too. A subtle topo-style windscreen banner hides a map of Wyoming’s Teton Range, a nod to Londy’s hometown, along with a handful of elevations marking personal dates and memories. It’s the sort of quiet storytelling you only catch when you know where to look.

Bland then shot the finished 911 in the Alabama Hills, where warm sunrise light and red rock formations mirror the car’s shifting tones. The result is a machine that blends into its surroundings as much as it stands out, a rolling piece of Porsche art that still gets driven as intended.

Photos © Webb Bland