The 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.
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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.
The 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.”
