Porsche’s Sonderwunsch program has produced some truly remarkable vehicles—the 993 Speedster, the Buzz Lightyear GT3 RS, and my personal favorite, the 911 Sally Carrera. Now, the company’s latest one-off honors one of the most legendary Porsche race cars of all time: the slantnose.
The 911 GT2 ‘Flachbau RS’ was developed for one very special customer over the course of three years. It’s based on the 911.2 911 GT2 RS, with designers and engineers from Porsche, Porsche Motorsport, Weissach, and Manthey all contributing to the effort.
Inspired by Porsche’s original 935/78 Le Mans racer—nicknamed “Moby Dick”—Porsche reworked the front fenders, headlights, bumpers, rear wing, aerodynamics, and interior to create something truly unique. The result is one of the most interesting cars Sonderwunsch has ever created.
- Twin-Turbocharged 3.8-Liter Flat-Six
- 700 Horsepower / 553 Pound-Feet
- Seven-Speed PDK
- Rear-Wheel Drive
- 211 MPH Top Speed
- 70 Pounds Lighter Than GT2 RS Weissach
Porsche 911 GT2 ‘Flachbau RS’
Photo by: Porsche
A Modern Take On ‘Moby Dick’
The front end is where the Flachbau RS really separates itself from a standard GT2 RS (or any modern Porsche, for that matter). Porsche fitted completely redesigned front fenders with flatter wheel arches and slatted louvers that vent air from the wheel wells and reduce pressure inside the arches. The front bumper is new as well and incorporates subtle aerodynamic canards from Manthey.
The headlights are probably the most obvious change. Instead of the GT2 RS’s familiar round units, the Flachbau RS uses three extremely thin LED elements stacked vertically. The low- and high-beam units are each less than 1.5 inches tall, while the daytime running lights measure less than 0.8 inches.
That unusual arrangement gives the car a lower, tougher look; the clearest visual link to the original 935.
The connection to “Moby Dick” continues with the paint. The one-off is finished in a specially developed shade of Grand Prix White, a traditional Porsche color dating back to 1974. Matte black and exposed carbon-fiber elements provide contrast, while a distinctive U-shaped graphic on the hood pays homage to a design element from the Martini-liveried 935/78.
The interior is stripped down to help keep weight low. The Flachbau RS weighs nearly 70 pounds less than the already lightweight GT2 RS Weissach Package.
Porsche achieved that through a surprisingly thorough diet; the Porsche Communication Management system is gone, replaced by a simple leather-trimmed storage compartment instead. The audio system has also been removed, along with much of the car’s sound insulation and floor coverings.
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Source: Porsche
More Downforce, Less Weight
Porsche didn’t stop at the styling. The Flachbau RS received a significant amount of aerodynamic upgrades, including a completely new rear wing with S-shaped mounts inspired by the 911 GT3 R Rennsport.
The wing sits nearly two inches higher than the corresponding wing on a GT2 RS with the Manthey Kit and can be manually adjusted between three positions depending on how much downforce the driver wants.
In the High Downforce setting, at a top track speed of approximately 211 miles per hour, Porsche says the car generates around 1,221 pounds of downforce on the rear axle. Depending on the wing position, that’s roughly 2 to 3 percent more rear-axle downforce than a GT2 RS equipped with the Manthey Kit and its corresponding wing setting.
Photo by: Porsche
The car also uses Manthey’s aerodynamic hardware, including a front splitter, revised underbody and rear diffuser. Carbon-fiber aero discs on the rear wheels help reduce drag.
The powertrain, however, remains completely unchanged, per the customer’s request. It’s the same twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter flat-six engine from the factory GT2 RS, making a modest 700 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque.
According to Vice President Product Offering & Individualization at Porsche, Alexander Fabig, the goal was to keep the car as uncompromised as possible. He explains:
‘Converting the car to a Flachbau model proved to be very challenging, even though we left the powertrain unchanged, in agreement with the customer. Our aim was to reinterpret the iconic look of the 935 without compromising on safety, technology or road legality.’
Truly One Of A Kind
The Flachbau RS was tested extensively ahead of its debut. The car completed 50 laps of the Nurburgring (spy photographers captured the prototype late last year), while endurance testing subjected the rear wing to loads equivalent to approximately 93,200 miles of customer use.
While Porsche won’t say how much the Sonderwunsch transformation cost, it’s probably safe to assume the bill was substantial. For reference, Porsche’s custom Toy Story cars sold at auction for a whopping $3.0 million. But don’t expect to see another one like this. As the company notes:
‘If another customer comes [with a similar idea], of course we evaluate it… but you may never see a 911 with the exact same shape from a different customer. That’s what one-off is about.’
The Flachbau RS will be on display at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, in Monterey this weekend.
Motor1’s Take: Another winner from Sonderwunsch. While the Flachbau RS may be a dramatic departure from other one-offs we’ve seen from the German automaker, the design, performance, and packaging make this one easily one of the best yet.
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