Porsche Revives the Slant Nose with the Flachbau RS, a Delectable One-of-One GT2 RS
tags:- Porsche’s Sonderwunsch department built a 935-inspired 991.2 911 GT2 RS called the Flachbau RS as a one-of-one commission for a wealthy customer.
- The Flachbau RS was built from a “like-new” 2018 GT2 RS with the Weissach package; it leaves the powertrain untouched but sheds nearly 70 pounds from the original.
- The Sonderwunsch team worked with Style Porsche, a team of development engineers, Manthey, and Porsche Motorsport, all of whom spent three years developing the car.
The desire to own a car unique to you is not all that, well, unique. There are bumper stickers, of course. Then there are wheels, custom paint, and powertrain modifications, among an endless list of other ways to personalize a car. But when everyone in your social circle already owns all the same collector cars, how are you supposed to stand out? That’s where special-edition models, or more specifically, one-of-one models, such as the new Flachbau RS from Porsche, come in.
The Flachbau name, otherwise known as the Slant Nose, comes from the iconic Porsche 930, which was a special customization of the 911 Turbo that came with redesigned front fenders and pop-up headlights. The design was shared with the 935 racer that racked up wins in the endurance racing world, finishing on the top step at Daytona, Sebring, Le Mans, and the Nürburgring. This one, however, is built from a “like-new” 2018 911 GT2 RS equipped with the Weissach package.
Neither Porsche nor the customer were all that interested in changing just the aesthetics of the donor GT2 RS—both parties wanted the Flachbau’s performance to match its racy looks. There are visual changes, of course, that mark the Flachbau RS apart from standard 911 GT2 RS models. The front fenders sit lower and feature slatted louvers to reduce pressure in the wheel arches. The bumper had to be redesigned as well, and it wears subtle canards from Weissach to help stick the front of the car to the road. The redesigns meant that the fuel-filler cap and its underlying components needed to be redesigned—as did the headlights, obviously. The high-beams, low-beams, and the daytime running lights now sit in thin horizontal tiers, one above the other.
The paint—Grand Prix White—comes right out of the Porsche history books as a color first added to the 911 in 1974. The color spreads across the majority of the bodywork and into the car’s interior. In a fun twist on the original, the hood sports a “U” of paint, leaving the middle section bare—the reverse scheme from the production car.
According to Porsche, the rear wing, with its S-shaped mounts, was inspired by the 911 GT3 R Rennsport, though the Flachbau’s wing sits nearly two inches higher. The wing also has three adjustable settings, with the high and low positions offering 3 percent more downforce than the Manthey package-equipped GT2 RS with the wing in the same positions. Porsche reports that the high-downforce setting is good for approximately 1221 pounds of downforce on the rear axle at the car’s top speed of 211 mph, which matches the stock car.
The powertrain, at the behest of the customer, was left untouched, but don’t go thinking that makes the Flachbau RS any less special. It’s still packing the beating heart of an apex predator over the rear axle. The twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter flat-six thumps out 700 horsepower at a lofty 7000 rpm and 553 pound-feet of torque, which arrives much earlier at 2500 rpm.
The real acceleration gains come from the weight reduction. The production GT2 RS was already a light affair. When equipped with the Weissach package, the car shipped without air conditioning and infotainment bits; hell, Porsche even ripped out the door handles and replaced them with fabric pull straps. And yet, the company still removed 70 pounds of weight from the car.
The niceties in the cabin survive as far back as the seats—at least, some of them. Alcantara, leather, and carbon fiber are still scattered throughout the car, but the Porsche Communication Management (PCM) system was pulled, as was the entire audio system. Sound deadening went too, as did the floor coverings, leaving the exposed surfaces to be finished in either bare metal or the same Grand Prix White as the outside of the car. Porsche went as far as removing individual wires that were no longer needed, leaving those that remain exposed save for some protective sheathing.
The project required collaboration from the Sonderwunsch team, the Style Porsche team, several Weissach-based development engineers, Manthey, and Porsche Motorsport. Even after digital validation testing, Porsche built three test cars to complete various development exercises over the course of three years.
Pricing for a one-of-one car from Sonderwunsch is one of those “if you have to ask” situations, which comes as no surprise given the amount of legwork required to pull it off. Depending on the scope of the project, they start around the $2 million. While Porsche declined to disclose the agreed-upon price of the Flachbau RS, we’re certain the figure was much higher than that.
➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.
Jack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1.
After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.