1984 Porsche 911 Turbo Slant Nose on BaT Embodies '80s Excess – Yahoo Autos

• Experience peak 1980s excess today with this special-order Porsche 911 Turbo.

• Formerly owned by the colorful founder of Hawaiian Tropic, it was built by Porsche’s spare-no-expense Special Wishes department.

• This car combines slant-nose bodywork and old-school performance with a turbocharged and intercooled 3.3-liter flat-six, a four-speed manual transmission, and a whale-tail spoiler.

There’s a scene at the end of Dumb and Dumber when Harry and Lloyd are dejectedly walking along the side of the road and the Hawaiian Topic swimsuit tour bus rolls up, the windows open, and the “Hallelujah Chorus” rings out. Here’s a car that has that same effect: a glorious 1984 911 Turbo flachbau—or slant nose—in metallic red on black. It was custom built for the founder of Hawaiian Tropic by Porsche’s Sonderwunsch department, and it’s for sale right now on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos).

Life had to be pretty good if you were the founder of the largest sunscreen manufacturer in the U.S. in the 1980s, and Ron Rice made the most of his success. A high-school chemistry teacher who mixed his first batch of sun protection in a garbage can, he grew his company to the point that he could afford to lend his Lamborghini Countach to the production of The Cannonball Run. Hawaiian Tropic was also one of the sponsors on Paul Newman’s red Porsche 935 that finished second at Le Mans in 1979, and it’s perhaps here that Rice got his inspiration for a special 911.

Sonderwunsch translates to “Special Wishes,” and it’s Porsche’s most exclusive division. Never mind optioning the key fobs for your Cayenne to be the same color as its paint, the Sonderwunsch team will perform requests like building the one-off 911 Classic Club Coupe, a 996-chassis version of a 1998 GT3 Touring that never existed. Cost? Over a million.

Fewer than 1000 slant-nose 911 Turbos were built, including cars that were reworked by Porsche after leaving the factory, which makes them rarer than a Ferrari F40. Losing the characteristic round Porsche headlights in favor of the 935-look pointy front end isn’t to everyone’s taste, but in terms of embodying the 1980s, the look is iconic. Further, since most of these cars were special order, the specifications can vary widely.

This example is finished in a paint-to-sample metallic red that’s deep and luxuriant, with handcrafted front fenders. The interior is classic black leather, optioned with sports seats and an electric power sunroof.

Mechanically, the turbocharged 3.3-liter flat-six was good for 300 horsepower when new, as this is originally a European-market car. The transmission is a stout four-speed manual, and there’s a limited-slip differential out back. Porsche 911 Turbos of this era were considerably more demanding than a modern ultra-capable executive express, but with modern Michelin tires mounted, this car should offer both an involving and exhilarating drive.

With 48,000 miles showing on the odometer and a comprehensive refurbishment within the past 10 years, this is the ideal 911 Turbo for some fun in the sun. Harry and Lloyd might have directed the bus to the next town, but some lucky bidder isn’t going to be dumb enough to miss out on this special wish of a Porsche.

The auction ends on March 12.

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