Back in the day, converting a Porsche road car to pay homage to your track heroes required very deep pockets and the backing of one of the most famous watch companies in the world. Fast forward to the modern era, and you can simply order a kit online with a flash of your credit card.
At the top of the list of custom pre-fabricated flachbau (flatnose) conversion packages are Old & New from Japan, and that’s exactly who supplied the kit for Mun-san’s 997 Carrera 2
If your into slantnose Porsches, then you’ve likely already seen Mun-san’s car on Instagram, or anywhere else on the internet where slammed 911s lurk. Compared to the original 930s that went under the knife for a flat nose job, there’s a very different vibe to these new Porsche builds.
The old flachbau conversions looked really, well, converted. They looked out of balance, ass heavy, and as though reconstructive nose surgery had gone wrong. But they looked tough.
Today, New & Old offer this kit for the 996 and 997 body shapes, and at a reasonable cost. You certainly don’t need to be a timepiece mogul to afford the full kit, but at US$19K a healthy savings account or friendly bank manager probably wouldn’t go amiss. The kit includes front and rear bumpers, side skirts, front and rear fenders, lights and shrouds. Don’t worry, they’ve thrown in the wing for free.
I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this modern take on a classic concept. The slantnose was never meant to be a design concept; no one said ‘let’s chop the headlights off because it looks beautiful’. Norbert Singer made the decision because he wanted the 930 to be more aerodynamic and win more races, which it did.
These new 996 and 997 kits from New & Old look more balanced, sleek and flowing. The low-slung roofline and fast-back styling blend nicely with the slanted front fenders. They’ve definitely been created with style in mind.
And that’s a big part of the point of builds like this. The people who build cars like this don’t care what you and I think; they build them because it’s what they like, and they have enough guts to drive them with pride. It doesn’t matter if it’s less drag or extra cool points they’re after.
You might be thinking that this 997 looks strangely familiar, and you’d be right for thinking so. The car does look very similar to the SEMA demo car built to showcase the New & Old slantnose kit’s US debut back in 2018.
Of course, all the kits look the same, but you can choose your colour and wheels to finish things off. After running silver wheels for a while, Mun-san switched to gold, not because he wanted his 997 to look the same as the SEMA car, but because the black/gold combo looks rad.
How many times have you arrived at the pub to meet a mate and you’re wearing the same jacket, trainers and jeans combo? When it’s fashion we tend to just laugh it off as a happy coincidence; it’s no big deal because we all love NB 574, Levi’s and The North Face. But when two cars wear the same shoes and have the same coloured jacket, well, we all know how that usually goes in the comments…
To look at this positively though, doesn’t it feel good to belong to a tribe? To be part of a gang? To be identified as belonging to something? I think Mun-san’s 997 says “this is who I am, and I’m not the only one”
As a final thought for the day, for those of you thinking ‘he’s just copied someone else’s build’, well, didn’t Kremer do that to make their 935 kits back in the day? Imitation is, after all, the sincerest form of flattery.
Toby Thyer
Instagram _tobinsta_
tobythyer.co.uk
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
0 technical details.
wheel sizes? tire sizes? suspension? engine? ICE? brakes?? anything??? It has a kit. We get that. Someone else has a kit too. OK. but maybe give us some details other than commentary my bro.
Keep your technical details. I want to know what he does for a living that lets him afford a car like this.
Half roll cage and a sound system should tell you everything you need to know about a car like this
Why don't you two show us your 997's?
Finally a kit for those who love 996 gen but hate the headlights
Every time I read one of your articles, I think, "Get that car out of the way! I wanna look at the scenery!"
Seriously, how do you keep finding such beautiful areas to shoot pictures in?
Toby,
That's a wicked kit. It cost $21,000.00! Nice that some folks in Japan love Porsche as much as I do! Well, that's impossible because NO ONE loves Porsche more than I do!!!!!!!!!! That wing is really talking loud. That bad boy better be able to back it up! More details though next time.
with so many awesome cars in this world, a feature of a car looking almost identical to one done 3 years ago? what a Waste!
the car looks cool, but we get it in the first one... nothing fresh to see here
What's with the missed focus on some of your shots?
Besides that, beautiful shots as usual
Probably very cold hands and cold wind in the eyes!!
"This 935 Porsche was built by Kremer Racing (who built the Chassis engine gearbox and suspension) and DP Motorsport (who made and painted the bodywork) in Cologne in the late 1970s. Incidentally DP Motorsports built and fitted all the bodywork for the Kremer Brother 935s including the K2 through to the K4. Exkerhard Zimmerman of DP Motorsports developed this style of 935 bodywork after his enormously successful K3 design for the Kremer Brothers."
Not sure where the idea they copied it from someone came from. Street cars really can't be compared to race cars in terms of aerodynamics and body work expectations.
I meant the kit they offered to the public was a copy of the race cars. The Kremer cars where later "copies" of the original Works 935/76 cars.
The louvers are too far forward. The original intent was for the louvres to relieve high pressure in the wheel well which contributed to lift. Take a look at the period race cars.
As an option the pop up headlights would look very cool, like the 959 & 928.