1994 Porsche 911 Turbo S Flachbau

This is one of the most rare and most coveted 911 models Porsche has produced for the US market to date. Porsche sent 39 units to the US, dubbed with its internal code X85 for the American markets with the Flachbau option, and another 17 cars bore the standard 964 front ends. Porsche sold ten X83 flat-nose units to Japan, and 27 of their X84 flat-nose units throughout the RoW (rest of world). That equals 76 of the Typ 964 Flachbau optioned Turbo S models for the world, a low production, which is ingredient #1 when we think of cars as investment grade.    

Porsche’s Exclusive department conceived this model near the end of the run of the 964 Turbo. A batch of coupes went to Exclusive to receive the “S” upgrade specifications. This meant 385 horsepower out of the 3.6-liter flat six (the X88 engine designation produced 25 horsepower more than the base 3.6 Turbo, derived from the IMSA 3.6 engine built by Andial). Exclusive accomplished this power increase with a bigger KKK turbocharger, better intercooler, larger ports in the cylinder heads, bigger fuel injectors, and more efficient tweaks to the timing.  All of this together planted more power and better aero on the base 3.6 Turbo chassis and suspension, guided by the famed G50 5-speed transmission.

The flat-nose option was $60,000 USD back in 1994, serious money by today’s standard, that brought the X85 window stickers to over $160,000 USD. WOW!  Exclusive’s boss Rolf Sprenger developed the flattened front end from the Typ 935 racecar with help from designers in Style Porsche. As a result, you got the pop up headlamps, air intakes on the rear quarter panels (quasi 959 in style), special front splitter, rear wing with louvers, quad exhaust tips, and—in many opinions—the best wheels ever fitted on a 911. This car was a brilliant design of this era which achieved sub-four-second 0-60 times and raced through a quarter mile in approximately 12 seconds. Needless to say Porsche used all the technology that was available in the 90’s and produced a sexy Turbo S that is absolutely exhilarating to pilot.

From here, chassis (ending in 403) becomes even more rare and special:  Finished in Polar Silver Metallic it represents the only X85 Flachbau delivered to the States in any silver, a true one-of-one. This car has had four careful owners who each maintained their Flachbau in a manner recognizing it as a cornerstone in their collections (and who did a thorough job of retaining all the original components from Porsche and service records from new.) Enjoyed only for approximately 12,700 miles this is one of the finest Flachbau models you will ever see. A well-known example, this once was parked in Jerry Seinfeld’s collection. It is exactly what you would expect from such a rare piece at the highest caliber of 911s.