This compilation of Porsche 997 colors is based on price lists that I have found on the Internet. I’ve only looked at the Carrera colors, there might have been other color choices for other models.
Interior
The early 997.1 could be had with five different standard interior colors: Black, Stone Grey, Sand Beige, Palm Green, and Sea Blue. With the exception of Sand Beige, these are less gaudy than the comparable 996 colors. Stone Grey e.g. is considerably darker than Graffiti Grey, so with the exception of Sand Beige I find them all acceptable. Palm Green is gone in a price list from 2007. The four other colors remained throughout the entire production run. Optional colors (only available with the leather package) were Terracotta, Cocoa, Natural Brown, Natural Gray, and Carrera Red. See this post for more on interior colors.
Exterior
The early 997.1 colors appear to be carry-overs from the last 996 model year. The color palette then evolved as some colors were discontinued and replaced by others. The standard (non-metallic, no additional cost) colors were kept the same throughout the entire production run.
Standard non-metallic
Schwarz (black)
Indischrot (Guards red) – Quite rare I think. Probably too flashy for most people.
Carraraweiß (Carrara white) – The 997 was produced in a time where white once again more popular, so this color is more common than it was on the 996.
Speedgelb (speed yellow) – Another standard color that was probably too flashy for most buyers, except for GT3s.
Metallic options
Arktissilber (arctic silver) – Most common color on the 996 and probably quite popular on the 997, too. Replaced by platinum silver for the 2011 model year.
Basaltschwarz (basalt black) – A metallic black, but the metallic effect is difficult to see in pictures.
Carmonarot (carmon red) – A nice dark metallic red, replaced by ruby red for the 2008 model year.
Cobaltblau (cobalt blue) – A very nice mid-tone metallic blue, unfortunately not that common. Replaced by aqua blue for the 2009 model year.
Tannengrün (pine green) – A dark forest green, replaced by Porsche racing green for the 2009 model year.
Atlasgrau (atlas grey) – a very dark anthracite grey.
Nachtblau (midnight blue) – As the name implies, a very dark metallic blue. Replaced by dark blue for the 2010 model year.
Meteorgrau (meteor grey) – A metallic grey about halfway between arctic silver and atlas grey.
Rubinrot (ruby red) – Replacement for carmon red for the 2008 model year. Lighter than the color it replaced. Dropped for the 2011 model year.
Macadamia (macadamia) – a brownish metallic color, appears to have replaced atlas grey.
Aquablau (aqua blue) – Replaced cobalt blue for the 2009 model year. Quite similar in appearance.
Porsche Racinggrün (Porsche racing green) – a dark metallic green, which replaced pine green for the 2009 model year.
Dunkelblau (dark blue) – replacement for midnight blue for the 2010 model year.
Platinsilber (platinum silver) – replacement for arctic silver for the 2011 model year. Appears to have a more brownish hue than the very neutral arctic silver.
Eisblau (ice blue) – a new introduction for the 2011 model year, but not listed in a late 2010 Carrera price list, so maybe a turbo-only color? A silverish blue.
Special order
Porsche offered two tiers of special order colors. Some colors that were available previously could be chosen for an additional cost and longer waiting period. For the early 997.1, these were dark olive, GT silver, lago green, lapis blue, and slate grey. The individual tier made it possible to order any color of choice, at a higher cost of course and with a waiting period of at least six months.
Dark olive
Names don’t get much more descriptive than this. A dark metallic green with more brown in it than the other green offerings.
GT Silver
This is the color that was introduced with the Carrera GT, and also used on the 40 Jahre 996 anniversary model. It appears to be a tad darker than Arctic Silver. It is very difficult to see the difference in images as lighting and white balance are so important in cases like these.
Lago Green
Another dark metallic green, very difficult to distinguish from Racing Green. It might have a slight bluish tint?
Lapis Blue
A very nice dark metallic blue in between Cobalt Blue and Midnight Blue, but very close to Aqua Blue.
Slate Grey
A metallic grey that is a tad darker than Meteor Grey.
Color distribution
I could not find numbers about the how many cars of each color left the factory, but I did a quick search on the German secondhand car site mobile.de. Here are the percentages computed from 657 cars:
The non-colors white, silver/gray and black add up to 88% of cars for sale. Compared to the 996, white has become much more popular, mostly at the cost of blue, which has been halved in percentage. Other colors remain very rare.