Caught in the Classifieds: Porsche 911 Turbo Flat-Nose
A 1980s 911 that stands out from the crowd.
When it comes to describing the 1980s, especially the second half of the decade, the word most often used is excess. The economic boom triggered a period of spending, partying, shoulder pads and terrible hairstyles.
This is very much signified by some of the supercars of the era. The Lamborghini Countach sprouted large, and largely useless, wings, while the Ferrari Testarossa sported massive side strakes to cover the rear-mounted radiator inlets. Not wanting to miss out on this party, Porsche offered a more extreme version of the 911 Turbo, the SE (or 930S in the United States), but more commonly referred to as either the Flat-Nose or the Slant-Nose.
Aping the style of the 935 race cars, the Flat-Nose replaced the traditional fixed headlights with popup items to give a much lower overall frontal area. At the rear, Porsche followed Ferrari's lead and added vents with side strakes in front of the rear wheel arches. Initially this body treatment was available from Porsche's restoration shop as a special order conversion, but from 1986 onwards this became an official option (M506 for code freaks). Accompanying the bodywork alterations, power was increased to 330bhp, up from 300bhp for the standard Turbo, by the addition of higher lift cams, revised exhaust, a larger intercooler and an increase in boost pressure.
According to Peter Morgan's book Original Porsche 911, a total of 675 cars received the M506 option, with a further 237 having the special order conversion. Most Flat-Noses went to the United States, so they are a very rare sight on this side of the Atlantic, with only 39 Flat-Noses being made in right-hand drive.
Friend of Drive Cult, Mark Shannon, currently has one of these 39 cars for sale. Finished in Guards Red - a hugely popular colour for 911s of that period - Mark describes the car as a 'barn find' and is offering the car in 'as is' condition. The records for this car indicate that it is not an SE but a special order conversion car; this does make confirming its exact provenance more complicated, but Mark has obtained details from the factory confirming it is a factory conversion and the car is known to the Slant Nose register within Porsche Club GB.
It has covered 19,500 miles and the service records show it was last serviced in 2000 when the car had covered 17,000 miles. The car was most recently taxed and MOT'd in 2005. Despite having very little use in recent years, Mark informs me that the car has been kept in working order, and also comes with a registration plate appropriate to the model.
Genuine Flat-Noses (a number of companies offered aftermarket conversions) have always held their value more than the regular models due to their rarity, and this example - which could probably benefit from a little TLC - represents an interesting investment buy, especially when you consider how values of classic 911s have shot up over the last couple of years.
If you're interested in the car, please contact Mark directly via the details on his website. If you do end up buying the car, do mention you saw it first on Drive Cult and hopefully Mark will buy us a couple of beers!