1987 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 G50 Flachbau

In the motorsport world, it’s often what isn’t written in the rule book that you should focus on. The grey area between lines offers space for engineers to push technical boundaries beyond what the average person might conceive possible. These developments shift the status quo, and subsequently, they trickle down into road-going variants of the fire-breathing racing cars we idolise.

You can pick your poison when it comes to Porsche nomenclature, but what we refer to as the 935 was that status quo shifter. A sneaky interpretation of a rule focused on sharing a road-going silhouette resulted in the 935 losing its headlamps in a quest for aerodynamic efficiency. And, if you had enough coins to throw at a Stuttgart salesman, you too could have one in your garage.

Whilst this car is not an original flat nose, it has lived a very interesting life. It’s a European-specified 1987 Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera Cabriolet, which was imported into the UK in 2019 from the US, having already been converted into a flatnose. The conversion was done to a high standard, using steel panels, unlike many of its fibreglass contemporaries.

When it arrived in the UK, the car was red, but it was quickly dispatched to Lemass Automotive, who set about completing a bare shell restoration, work that would end up costing more than £30,000. Refinished in Grand Prix white, the car is the '80s poster icon you dreamed of. Sitting on a set of genuine Fuchs alloys, which have been fitted with wider polished lips to fill the extended steel arches, it is an aggressive and spectacular beast adorned with vents, louvres, lips and spoilers.

The interior, of course, has been addressed. The car now features a cabin trimmed in supple burgundy leather, the seats have been re-bolstered for maximum comfort, and the steering wheel has been replaced with a MOMO wheel, though the original is still with the car.

With restorations like these, it’s easy to miss the small details, but staring back at you from the driver's seat is a white Porsche Flachbau-branded rev counter. Roof down or roof up, this cabriolet looks the part thanks to the retrofitting of a burgundy, 993 roof. In-car entertainment is present and correct, with a period-looking, Blaupunkt Bremen headunit, Focal speakers and a kicker amp.

At the rear, you’ll find the numbers-matching 3.2-litre flat six and the preferred G50 gearbox. It was treated to a top-end rebuild as part of the restoration works in 2019 and now runs perfectly. It also sounds excellent thanks to a Cargraphic twin-exit exhaust. During the rebuild, the car was fitted with an assortment of new gaskets, fuel lines, clips, screws and a new fuel tank, which has been finished in Rubystone.

The history folder that comes along with this car is bursting at the seams, both in value and volume. It has been meticulously maintained, since its restoration, by renowned Porsche specialists. Primarily, that is Parr Porsche, whose invoices total over £30,000 and most recently in January of this year, RPM Technik, who have run through the car with a fine-tooth comb, at a cost of over £21,000. In total, over £90,000 has been spent restoring, renovating and maintaining this car.

Now, though it’s ready to be enjoyed by its next owner, anywhere from the M4 to Monaco. Included with the sale are an assortment of spare parts that include bumpers, exhaust, wiring, and a brand new set of Willwood front brakes that have not yet been fitted, which cost close to £2,000.

As with all our vehicles, an entire digital folder is available upon request and contains more images, walk-around videos, and scans of the service history. The car can also be viewed by appointment at our West London showroom.