It isn't a flat top or a colored one, but is only the second 26 I've seen for sale around here. I got optimistic when I saw two back to back listings in the same town minutes apart for Weber kettles at different prices. Clicked on one, and it was a standard black OTS. Clicked the second, and behold, 26.75" new non-taco style. Agreed to buy it without haggling. The woman held it for me and took the ad down after she started getting a lot of responses. $65 and I got a cover with it. That's the most I've ever paid for a kettle by quite a bit, but I look at it this way. I read online about people raving about the performer and how grate they are and didn't understand it, but I found one cheap, bought it and now I totally get it. I read the same things about people with 26ers, so when the opportunity arose, I figured, what the heck. I'll give that a shot too.
Dad picked it up this morning for me and he said "It's big. I don't know what you needed one that big for" (But he also doesn't know why I want to have a bunch of old grills anyway). Mom looked at it in the back of Dad's car (it wouldn't fit in the trunk) and said "You know those pots that you see in old movies that they cook people in? It looks like one of those"
I haven't seen it yet, except in one online picture. Apparently, it has a baseball sized dent in the bowl, and rust around each of the leg sockets also roughly baseball sized. I'm hoping that it is just surface rust but it moderately concerns me. The grates are supposed to be in good shape. I don't know about the ash sweeper. It has a thermometer and ash catcher but is an EE code according to my Dad. That's interesting to me because I know that
@Nate has an EE flat top.
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/should-be-picking-up-a-26r-this-morning/msg158905/#msg158905I guess if I confirm mine, that they changed styles mid-year.
I'll post pics when I take possession.