1989 Porsche 911 (930) Turbo SE 'Flatnose'

Anyone who followed the "World Championship of Makes" (essentially an international championship for long-distance Sports Car racing), will remember their surprise at the shape of the new 935 when it first appeared at Mugello in March 1976. Subsequently, these "Flatnose" 935s and 936s (in Group 6) were to prove very competitive in the hands of Ickx, Mass and Stommelen and during the next two seasons managed four victories in eight World Championship races and a triumph at Le Mans in each year.

However, Porsche began to worry that all these victories by the works Flatnose cars might alienate the vast number of private clients who were investing their own money in conventionally shaped competition 911s, and decided to restrict their efforts for 1978 to an entry at Le Mans. The distinctive look of the "Flachbau" (literally translated as Low Build) obviously retained its appeal in the minds of their road car customers and from 1981 until early 1989 Porsche 930 buyers could specify their car in this style to special order. Just 50 C16 cars were manufactured for the UK market.

These cars were initially equipped with an uprated engine of 330bhp (from 300) mated to a 4-speed transmission. However, at the end of 1988, the uprated 5-Speed G50 gearbox was introduced, which vastly improved performance and reduced turbo lag. The factory SE also benefitted from a dual-exit exhaust system, limited slip differential, heated front seats and a sunroof.

This example is a genuine factory-produced C16 Porsche 930 Turbo SE, built in January 1989 under the "Sonderwunchprogramm' (Special Wishes Programme). It is 1 of just 18 UK-delivered cars (including 7 cabriolets) for that model year. The first owner decided to collect the car from the factory himself and drive his new pride and joy back to the UK on 17th February 1989. Factory options included 506 (Slant Nose ROW), sunroof, leather interior, standard centre console, luggage compartment in velour carpet, heated seats and extremely rare BBS split rim alloy wheels.

Finished in black with black interior, the car is presented in superb condition and has clearly lived a very well cossetted existence. The service history is simply superb with the vast majority of the 13 stamps in the original service book coming from Heddell & Deeks, who became Chapelgate, and latterly Porsche Bournemouth. Previous MoT certificates and service stamps help substantiate a total mileage of 53,761 miles.

In 2011 the car was purchased by a collector in Hong Kong. He had the car serviced with Porsche, Hong Kong and the car was registered there, (registration certificate included with the history), until it was acquired by our vendor last year and returned to the UK. The V5C shows three former keepers in the UK since 1989.

Extensive recent works have included a major service and a full '111-point' check by Porsche, Bournemouth in September 2015. In addition, the metering unit and cold start system have been rebuilt and the car drives extremely well indeed. On test with Silverstone Auctions, the car pulled hard through all gears and was a thrill to drive. The steering felt light and direct, the gearbox was tight and the brakes, clutch and overall driving experience inspired real confidence.

We welcome pre-sale inspections and prospective bidders should contact the office for further details. A highly collectable Porsche that ticks all the boxes in terms of history, condition and pure turbo-driving thrills.