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There are countless ways to personalize a Porsche, ranging from selecting a wheel design to ordering a paint-to-sample color. One buyer went a lot further down the customization path than most: An anonymous collector commissioned a 911 GT2 RS-based one-off. Unveiled during Monterey Car Week, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS Flachbau is a flat-nosed tribute to the brand’s historic race cars.
While flat-nose conversions weren’t uncommon in the 1980s, the look is extremely difficult to pull off in the 2020s, which largely explains why even tuners largely steer clear of it. One buyer was determined to make it happen, however, and had the money to fund the project. Porsche and Manthey spent nearly three years turning a 991.2-gen 2018 GT2 RS into the one-off pictured here.
The front-end design draws inspiration from the 935, a successful 1970s race car that earned the nickname “Moby Dick,” but it’s not a copy of the 935 tribute car unveiled in 2018. The front end features four exposed LED headlights embedded in the fenders, flatter wheel arches, and vents above the wheels. The back end receives a new, 911 GT3 R Rennsport-inspired rear wing with S-shaped mounts that increase downforce, and the coupe is painted in a special shade of Grand Prix White created specifically for it.
Heritage played a significant role in shaping the styling: The black, U-shaped graphic is a tribute to the 935’s Martini livery. “Our aim was to reinterpret the iconic look of the 935 without compromising on safety, technology or road legality,” Porsche explained.
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Inside, the Porsche team focused on saving as much weight as possible by removing unnecessary equipment. The rear seats, the infotainment system, the entire sound system, and the sound-deadening material were sent back to the parts bin to save nearly 70 pounds. While that might not sound like much, keep in mind that the 911 GT2 RS was already developed to be as light as possible. The donor car was equipped with the optional Weissach Package, too, which cut about 66 pounds from the regular GT2 RS.
Porsche notes that the customer it built the Flachbau for preferred to leave the drivetrain stock, so there are no mechanical changes to report. Power comes from a twin-turbocharged, 3.8-liter flat-six rated at 700 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. It spins the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, and it sends the coupe to a top speed of 211 mph when the rear wing is set to its “High Downforce” position. Speaking of downforce, the new wing generates about 1221 pounds of it at top speed.
The redesigned front end isn’t a mere body kit; it completely changes the car’s aerodynamic profile, so Porsche spent hundreds of hours testing it in wind tunnels and in real-world conditions. Further complicating matters was the effort to ensure that the one-off is street-legal in Europe—a task easier said than done. Porsche consequently built three test cars to carry out validation testing.
All told, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS Flachbau sounds like the kind of money-no-object build that we usually associate with brands like Lamborghini and Bugatti. Will this one-of-a-kind flat-nose spur interest in modern-day coachbuilding among Porsche buyers? And, if you were to commission a one-off 911, what would it look like? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
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