For the 1974 model year Porsche had to redesign the front bumper of the 911 in order to meet US impact requirements. Thus was born (in hindsight) the Porsche 911 long hood. While the new bumper design would remain with the car all the way to 1989 when Porsche introduced the 964, collectors have sought out the more aesthetically pleasing original design and long hood prices have gone through the roof. With their slightly larger displacement, along with stronger 5-speed transmission, the prices of the 1972-1973 models represent the peak of the classic 911 market. Just how high have prices shot up? That brings us to the car featured here: a very pretty 1973 Porsche 911S in Grand Prix White that is located in Washington. For those curious about the differences in appearance between a long hood and its redesigned successor (the G-Series), the final picture in the gallery below highlights the original shape very well. This particular example comes with an added bonus: rather than the standard 2.4 L of the 911S, this car has been fitted with the motor from the 2.7 Carrera RS, which provides a nice bump up from the standard car’s 190 hp.
Year: 1973
Model: 911S
Engine: 2.7 liter flat-6
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 114,500 mi
Price: Reserve Auction
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1973 Porsche 911S on eBay
1973 911S Sunroof Coupe
This 1973 911S (9113301387) is nearly 95% concours, and an excellent quality presentation good enough to be shown without reservation or excuses. The west coast car is 100% rust free with no accident history.
Power Plant: The ‘73S is powered by a very strong 2.7 Carrera RS spec motor professionally built on ’74 U.S. Carrera RS case (911/93), fueled by a ’73 RS MFI. This motor has been balanced/blueprinted and is bullet proof with a turbo oil pump, Carrera chain tensioners, advanced oiling and more. All engine metal was re-anodized and the motor presents as new.
Transaxle: It features Quaife torque sensing Limited Slip Differential, with a solid shifting 915 gearbox.
Factory options: Full tinted glass, full leather interior, power roof, power windows, through the grill fogs, engine light, and AC (not installed). Also included: The original tool kit, jack, owner’s manual, and service book in their original red vinyl jacket.
Exterior: The ‘73S has undergone a windows-out bare-metal re-spray in the original Gran Prix white and is flawless. All exterior rubber and seals were replaced during paint. The floor pan was not touched and is completely straight. New H4s and Euro lenses front and rear compliment the exterior.
Interior: The newly reupholstered black leather seats with black and white hounds-tooth inserts beautifully compliment the Gran Prix white exterior. This combination must be seen. To enhance the forward view, a German sourced dash was fitted while the original instruments were re-faced to like-new condition. Looking out, a new SIGLA German windshield was installed. To complete the package, the steering wheel was recovered and double-wrapped. In the rear view, a new rear parcel shelf was fitted while the original seat pockets were reworked for proper fitment.
Performance: This ‘73S will blow the doors off all stock ‘72 and ’73 Ss. It possesses outstanding torque through the entire rev-range and has a conservatively estimated 215 hp (compared to the stock 190). The S has oversized torsion bars with LSD that aggressively puts the power down. The S sits at Euro-height, is corner balanced, and challenges the corners like it is on rails.
Misc. Mileage: 114,500. The matching numbers 2.4 S block (6339134), front over-riders, AC, standard torsion bars, and sugar-scoops included with the sale. Original sportomatic NA, but know of an available unit. Two extremely nice “7X15†Fuchs available at extra cost for a more aggressive staggered stance.
In Sum: This well prepared 1973S not only presents beautifully on the show field, but also possesses the performance to more than best the competition.
I will be curious to see what happens with this car. The seller has placed the starting bid at $95,000, which would be strong money for a ’73 911S with this mileage. The question is how potential buyers react to the engine. The engine is a performance upgrade and a good one at that. But in the realm of 40-year-old collector cars selling for six figures originality is always going to be a sticking point. The car presents very well. The paint looks excellent and while I could do with some more complete interior shots, the interior shots that are shown look very good. So it comes down to the engine and I’m just not sure that a buyer is going to be quite as interested in the improved performance for a collector car at this price. Had the starting bid been set a bit lower we might get an idea of what sort of price this will fetch. At $95,000, it may not see a bid. We shall see. Regardless, this looks to be an excellent car that would be quite fun to drive, there’s just the matter of figuring out the value.
-Rob
Unless I’m reading the ad copy wrong, this car also started out as a Sportomatic version. So in addition to the non-original motor and uninstalled A/C, it doesn’t have the original transmission either. While the change of engine and transmission have to make the car much better to drive, I also have to believe they cause the collectability to take some kind of hit.
I’d put this car in the same general category as the Dave Aase yellow one featured here a while back. If I recall correctly, that one failed to break $70k in the eBay auction, which makes me think this one is starting too high.
Nice!! I have reached a point where on the pre ’73 911 S, what matters is originality and condition. The mileage, at least to me, seems to be irrelevant now.
On newer air cooled Porsches, (or Porsche made cars), I still stick to very low miles., regardless of condition and originality.
+1 on the Sportmatic & engine comments regarding originality. Sportmatics are certainly less desirable than a MT but there were so few made, from a collectibility standpoint, it would have been better to keep the automatic. If the seller at least had the Sportmatic to offer with the original engine the mods might be forgiven. Coachwork does appear exceptional. It’s easy to forgive mechanical misgivings with a fine looking restoration. A drive would probably make you forget all about it. $95K? Guess we’ll see.
Clarification above: On newer air cooled Porsches, (or Porsche made cars), I still stick to very low miles, even if the high mileage car is in perfect condition and all original.
This is basically an owner built car so it does not represent originality in any sense of the word.at least as it pertains to the desireablilty of early 901 s as they rolled from the factory;and thats where the early market is going to be for a very long time imho.
Whether a deep pockets buyer wants the later 2.7 and a 5 speed in an earlier shell.only time will tell.
But it leaves me cold…….and I’m a guy who put a Gettrag 5 sp in a ’72 2002 auto and justified it to myself all day long!