Built to order for Ron Dennis: the Porsche 911 Turbo Flachbau with a £350k price tag

The only car that shouts ‘1980s’ louder than a Guards Red 911 Turbo is a Guards Red 911 Turbo ‘Flachbau’ or ‘flat nose’ – the look inspired by Porsche’s 935 race cars that was offered as a Sonderwunsch (factory custom) modification from 1981 until 1986, when it became an official production model.

At upwards of £90,000 when new, a Flachbau cost at least twice as much as a regular 930 Turbo, so only properly wealthy types could afford one. Types like Ron Dennis – then co-owner, CEO and team principal of McLaren F1 – who may have ordered this one in celebration of McLaren’s back-to-back championship victories of 1984 and ’85.

Delivered to Dennis at the doors of the McLaren factory (Porsche-built TAG Turbo engines were used to power the team’s F1 cars from 1983-87), C930 SPF – the original registration plate – arrived with the specified extras of a Blaupunkt Bremen audio system with upgraded speakers, an LED turbo boost gauge and a (slightly incongruous) mahogany veneered central panel housing a clock, voltmeter and temperature gauge.

How long Dennis actually kept the car for has not been revealed, but the vendor has owned it for 33 years. It spent most of that time in “professional storage”, which helps to explain why it’s showing a mere 2587 miles on the odometer.

Fully recommissioned three years ago, it’s now on the button and ready to be used as what is more or less an as-new Flachbau – and, therefore, an extremely rare buying opportunity. Combine its low mileage with the fact that it is one of just 50 factory original right-hand-drive examples, its interesting provenance and the sky-high prices currently being paid for classic 911s, and Iconic’s estimate starts to look a bit low.

Watch this space to see what happens.

1986 PORSCHE 911 (930) TURBO SE 3.3 ‘FLACHBAU’

On sale with Iconic Auctioneers, NEC, Birmingham, November 14. Estimate: £350,000-£400,000. iconicauctioneers.com