14The Porsche 911 has taken on some iconic shapes over its 62-year history with the likes of the Targa and Speedster – and now 2026 is seeing the return of one of the most distinctive, the Flachbau or ‘Flatnose’. The Flatnose – or Slantnose as it was also known – dates back to the 1976 World Sportscar Championship, when Porsche engineers found a loophole that allowed them to swap the 935’s headlights for vents to improve downforce and reduce drag. In the eighties, this design eventually found its way onto the 930 road car, which was available under Porsche’s ‘Sonderwunschprogramm’ (special order programme). However, in total only 948 Flatnose road cars were built. The shape was revived in 2019 on the track-only second-generation 935, which featured a Flatnose design in tribute to its inspiration, the 935 racer of 1978, which was also known as Moby Dick because of its white paint and extended tail. Now Porsche has worked with racing outfit Manthey to create a one-off, road-legal, modern interpretation for a very special customer. 14The new car is based on a 2018 991.2 generation 911 GT2 RS and it features a fully redesigned exterior along with some special tweaks inside. Despite retaining the drivetrain underneath, the process wasn’t simple according to Alexander Fabig, vice president, product individualisation at Porsche. "Converting the car to a slantnose model proved to be very challenging,” he said. “Our aim was to reinterpret the iconic look of the 935 without compromising on safety, technology or road legality.” The exterior features a reshaped front end with the biggest visual difference being the removal of the production car’s headlights. There are still lights in there, however, with three very narrow LED elements that can switch between high and low beam or daytime running lights. There are also low-slung wings, with slatted air outlets to reduce air pressure in the wheelarches, which have been remodelled with even a new fuel filler cap having to be designed. An aerodynamic kit from Manthey adds front air guides, a splitter, carbon fibre aerodiscs on the rear wheels and a diffuser. Unique to the Flachbau is the huge rear wing – it’s similar to the extreme, track-only 911 GT3 R Rennsport of 2023, but it sits even higher on the new car and can be adjusted to suit various track requirements. The colour chosen for the Flachbau is Grand Prix White, reminiscent of the Moby Dick car’s colourway. There’s no Martini livery as on the iconic original, but there is a similar shape to the black exposed carbon fibre that bends around the headlights and nose. There’s also a unique Flachbau RS script running down the side, which Porsche trademarked last year. 14Inside, there’s a stripped out cabin with all the track-ready features you could wish for. The roll cage is painted white to match the body colour, and there are carbon fibre fixed-back bucket seats with more special Flachbau RS script within an outline of the Nürburgring – where we caught the car testing last year. Indeed, so focused is the Flachbau RS that even the wiring harness, which has been simplified to remove weight, is something of a feature in itself, and there’s also no sound system, so the owner will be left to the noise provided by the twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre flat-six. In total, the weight reduction measures have lowered the kerbweight of the Flachbau by 31.6kg compared to a 911 GT2 RS, bringing the total weight down to 1,410kg. After 50 laps of the Nürburgring and extensive testing on Porsche’s development centre at Weissach, company test driver Lars Kern said: “The Flachbau RS remains extremely stable and precise even at very high speeds. This is exactly the kind of feedback needed in order to validate such a radically altered body design.” The original GT2 RS with the Manthey Racing kit has plenty of history at the ’Ring, having claimed a record lap time of 6:40.33 minutes back in 2018. As for the rest of the Flachbau, the engine produces the same 690bhp as before, along with a 2.8-second 0-62mph time and despite that huge rear wing, the same 211mph top speed.
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