Lot 125: 1980 Porsche 911 Turbo Flat Nose Prototype

In 1976 Porsche introduced a turbocharged version of their three litre 911, called simply, "Turbo", and instantly the car was a huge hit. It was one of the fastest cars of the day, with 160mph top speed and 0-60mph acceleration in 5.4 seconds, figures that put it firmly into the newly emergent "Supercar" league, along with the likes of Ferrari's Boxer and Lamborghini's Countach, the only two real competitors to the Turbo. Continuing the philosophy of ongoing improvement a 3.3 litre version of the Turbo was introduced, boasting 300bhp and even better performance, with a top speed approaching 170mph. Massive drilled and ventilated disc brakes with huge callipers, as fitted to the firm's 917 sports prototype racing cars, were utilised to haul the car down from the phenomenal speeds which it could now achieve. Porsche's philosophy of continued research and development meant that many Turbo variants appeared throughout the life of the model, one of the most striking was the Flat Nose Turbo, built to resemble the incredibly successful 934/ 935 Turbo race cars of the late 1970's.We are proud to offer for the first time at auction the original factory prototype of this model. Created at the factory in June it became the first factory 'Flat Nose' or 'Flachbau' as it was known at a cost of $100,000. Built from a standard 300 bhp car it was taken back to the factory in Zffenhausen in 1985 and rebuilt to the specification of the later cars gaining another 30 bhp, at a cost of a further $50,000. At that time another speedo was fitted to the car now showing 11,890 Kms, the total mileage since the car was rebuilt.The original spoiler with the quad lighting system was replaced with a more streamlined 935 type spoiler, however the original is supplied. Offered in excellent condition throughout this car is an important part of the Turbo story and a must for any avid collector.