www.QV500.com - Porsche 911 (1978 - 83) Part 4: 911 3.0 SC & 3.3 Turbo Flachtbau

 
With a wide network of Porsche tuners having sprung up by the late seventies, customers could have practically any modification made to their 911. Firms like DP and Kremer were doing a roaring trade building high performance specials with trick engines and custom 935-inspired bodywork. Eventually, Porsche latched onto the idea of offering their best customers bespoke cars and established the Sonderwunsch programme at the Zuffenhausen repair departement. From 1981, relatively small numbers of 911's were transformed with the new Flachtbau bodywork, this Special Wish option starting out as a modification primarily for Turbo customers.
   

The 40,000 DM upgrade practically doubled the Turbo's price, but the Flachtbau conversion was a truly spectacular machine with its sloping 935-style front wings and circular headlights sunk into the front bumper and mounted behind clear Plexiglas covers. However, only a few examples were completed with this headlight configuration before Porsche switched over to retractable items. Either way, it gave the Flachtbau a radically different look from the familiar rounded wings of standard 911's. Additionally, each car was fitted with deep side skirts, triple-vane cooling scoops carved out from each rear wheelarch and a Group B oil cooler mounted in the nose (although US-bound examples had this latter feature deleted). Soon after adopting the pop-up headlights, banks of vents began appearing behind each retractable unit and from then on became permanent fixtures. When the 364bhp Group B 911 Turbo arrived in the Weissach racing catalogue mid way through 1982, the engine (albeit in slightly de-tuned 330bhp format) was adopted as another Special Wish option. With boost upped from 0.8 to 1.0 bar, a larger intercooler, free flow exhaust system and that aforementioned nose-mounted oil cooler, the extra 30bhp meant a top speed of 170mph, 0-60 in 5.2 seconds and 0-100 in 11.3. Customers could tailor the interior to their exact specification and go for either a competition-derived feel or something more luxurious - a practically limitless range of enhancements was possible if you had deep enough pockets. Other special options included 935-style centre-locking BBS wheels (occasionally fitted with flat face discs) and custom decals to further spice up the exterior.

 
Perhaps the ultimate illustration of how far Porsche could go was chassis 000817. This car was built specially by the factory in 1983 as a gift for Mansour Ojjeh, the man behind the TAG investment firm that specialised in commercial activities between the Middle East and Europe and was also title sponsor of the Williams F1 team between 1979 and '82. In late 1981, Ron Dennis had approached Porsche about the possibility of creating a turbocharged engine for McLaren's Formula 1 car. Porsche agreed if McLaren could come up with the money. Dennis then convinced Ojjeh to invest $5m and become a partner in McLaren (rather than just a sponsor).
   
The TAG Turbo Engines programme was born, the new motor being unveiled at the Geneva Salon in March 1983 and raced for the first time in August at the Dutch Grand Prix. In 1984, the McLaren TAG MP4/2's won 12 out of 16 races, secured both Drivers and Constructors titles and then repeated the feat in 1985 after six more race victories. For his part, Ojjeh was gifted a truly unique 911 that was reputedly based on a 934 chassis with competition shock absorbers and anti-roll bars. The ride height was dropped and the turbocharged 3.3-litre engine uprated to 380bhp at 5500rpm. Unique body modifications included 935-style fenders and spoilers, the centre-locking BBS wheels having been a massive 10-inches wide at the front and 13-inches wide at the back. Inside, the cockpit was luxuriously equipped with custom Recaro seats, a wooden dash, storage boxes instead of rear seats, a roll bar and a state of the art stereo system. Capable of 186mph flat out, 0-60 in under five seconds and a 0-100 in under eleven, Ojjeh took delivery in July '83 (one month before the TAG engines Grand Prix debut) and eventually sold the car to well-known Texan oil millionaire, John Mecom. In September 1986, the Flachtbau became an official factory option for the 1987 model year after 236 had been built.