From the middle of 2017 until its release at Rennsport Reunion last September, the 935 project was a hush-hush affair. Nobody knew of the small-batch successor until its unveiling, and the team had to work quietly and quickly. Even other departments weren’t aware of the development of “Project Flatnose.”
The striking appearance of the car is the result of the vision of Grant Larson—the man responsible for gems like the 997 Carrera and the Carrera GT. The exterior design had to be designed in just four days, which meant one shot at making the car turn heads.
This project was special because of all the freedom we had. There wasn’t going to be any homologation, so both we and the engineers were free to design as we wished,” said Grant.
However, the upside to having to work at a feverish pace meant they had carte blanche where the visual design was concerned. By taking cues from the original Moby Dick, they established the foundation. The flatnose design, headlights mounted in the massive front intakes, and flowing Martini livery were clearly linked to the original. The rear took a modern twist with the elongated bodywork, the recessed taillights and tunnel-like shell mimicking the massive venturi tunnel underneath.
The rear end of the 935 is pure fighter jet.
“The engineers were onboard earlier than usual in the design process. We normally join the process in the wind tunnel stage at the latest, but with the new 935 we were already included at the design studio phase—it created a special group dynamic,” said Matthias Scholz.
Unshackled by restrictions, fueled by the success of the past, brought together by the unique conditions present, the team put together a truly unique thoroughbred. It seems the pressure and the urgency actually helped here. The team have turned out a stunning, and stunningly fast, Porsche.
Grant’s skilled hands sketching out the wild shape of the 935.