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People love the Slantnose Porsche 911. Not everybody, of course, but many do—and that list is not just limited to random internet commenters. One customer with enough money even commissioned Porsche to build a one-off variant, dubbed the Flachbau RS, through its exclusive Sonderwunsch program. That car most certainly will not enter series production, but as a Porsche executive explained to The Drive at Monterey Car Week, we could someday see a Slantnose 911 model on offer to the public.
If you’ll remember, the original Slantnose 911 road car began as a one-off. Mansour Ojjeh, owner of Techniques d’Avant Garde (TAG), ordered the famous 935 Street through the Sonderwunsch program. Porsche delivered the machine in 1983, and based on the demand that followed, the manufacturer offered the flat-top look to other customers. Porsche itself estimates that 948 of those cars were so spec’d in the 1980s.
When The Drive asked if something similar could happen today, Porsche’s Vice President of Product and Individualization Alexander Fabig said, “Yes. I mean, the idea of Sonderwunsch was always that this is an inspiration for our series products.”
The 935 Street, ordered by Mansour Ojjeh of TAG fame. Porsche
“And we have various examples over the last 50 years where product substance started as a customer’s individual topic,” Fabig continued. “And then, as you said, it trickled down the process line of first becoming an exclusive Manufaktur option, maybe becoming a standard option later on, and then even becoming a series product.”
Fabig provided yet more examples to show that, indeed, there’s a pattern:
“So if you think about the power kit X50 and X51 from back in the day, that started as a customer individual. Then we had it as an option. And then later on, the 911 Turbo S was the result of this initial thought. So yes, it’s very well possible that you see not exactly this, but elements of it, or reinterpretations of [it] as a series offer.”
Porsche
Currently, Porsche has an arrangement with those who commission custom paint colors. They remain exclusive to the buyer for a year, but after that, they go into the company’s catalog to recoup development costs. Fabig indicated something similar could be done on the more radical projects, like the Slantnose.
The Flachbau RS that Porsche brought to Monterey Car Week is based on a 2018 GT2 RS. As such, it’s a maniacal machine with a 3.8-liter, twin-turbo flat-six making 700 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque. Don’t count on a future Slantnose 911 sporting exactly that same setup, but that’s not to say it’ll be slow by any means. Keep in mind that the current-gen Turbo S makes 701 hp thanks to its newfangled T-Hybrid system.
Keep in mind that this isn’t an absolute confirmation of a series production Slantnose 911. But if that is announced someday, just remember this blog.
Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@thedrive.com
From running point on new car launch coverage to editing long-form features and reviews, Caleb does some of everything at The Drive. And he really, really loves trucks.
