While automatic manual transmissions have become extremely popular on modern cars, and especially in racing, their appeal was far more limited in early applications. Porsche, as they are wont to do, was an early pioneer in the development of such systems, debuting their Sportomatic transmission in 1968. Dubbed by Car and Driver as a “nifty answer to a question seemingly no one was asking,” the Sportomatic did away with the clutch pedal in favor of a torque converter, though it still required the driver to do the shifting. As an early prelude to today’s PDK, the Sportomatic seems more like an interesting engineering exercise more than anything else, but nonetheless 911s do still exist showcasing this quirky transmission. We don’t feature very many of these – in part because there aren’t many that come up for sale given their relative lack of popularity – but from time to time and interesting example comes up. While the Sportomatic was available up until 1980 we almost never come across one attached to the impact bumper 911s, which makes this one all the more interesting. Here we have a 1976 Porsche 911 Coupe with only 11,787 miles on it and that 4-speed Sportomatic transmission. The seller doesn’t tell us this 911’s original color, but during restoration it was repainted in Geyser Grey Metallic.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1976 Porsche 911 2.7 Sportomatic on Hexagon Classics
Year: 1976
Model: 911
Engine: 2.7 liter flat-6
Transmission: 4-speed automatic
Mileage: 11,787 mi
Price: £99,995 (~ $141,000)
Porsche 911 2.7 Sportomatic coupe (1976)
Mileage: – 11,787 miles (250 miles since full restoration)
Geyser grey metallic with black leather & houndstooth interiorFactory options include:
Headlamp washer
Alloy wheels with 6 x 15 tyres
Sliding sun roof.
It’s very difficult to begin to describe what may possibly be the finest Porsche 911 Sportomatic for sale anywhere in the world. The bare facts are that this is car is the Porsche restoration competition national winner of 2013 (chosen from 15 other official Porsche centre entrants), having been extensively and lovingly restored by Porsche centre Tonbridge, Kent.
The semi-automatic transmission known as Sportomatic had a conventional synchromesh gearbox along with a torque converter and a normal clutch which was controlled by a vacuum controlled lever. Shifting gears without a clutch pedal to press resulted in very smooth changes and a more relaxed drive when compared to its manual siblings.
With a detuned engine from the infamous 911 2.7 rs, coupled with the sportomatic gearbox, this 911 became a very usable and easy to drive sports car.
This vehicle was completely stripped, the body soda blasted, zinc primed, etch primed, and then 3 coats of high build primer were added. Geyser grey metallic, the colour of the 50th anniversary 911 was chosen as the ideal paint colour for this special 911.
A total of 1,564 new parts were used at a trade price cost of over £60,000. More than 1,000 man hours were utilised, excluding the soda blasting and trimming! All in all, an investment of over £200,000, to bring this rare sportomatic coupe back to factory condition.
The vehicle was supplied new by afn ltd in 1976, and now looks arguably better than when the first owner took delivery. It has covered approximately 250 miles since its trophy winning restoration. A full history file and a photographic record of the restoration for this vehicle completes what is truly an amazing example of the best in classic porsches. It has been featured in national press advertising and editorials.
Hexagon modern classics have built a well-earned reputation for selling the very best in modern classics, but this car takes excellence to a whole new level. For the person looking for the very best available, this wonderful motor car will bring unbridled delight to any discerning collector.£99,995
For more information contact:Jonathan Franklin on +44(0)7522 911 911 or via email at [email protected]
Gary Ruberl on+44(0)7544 911 911 or via email at [email protected]
Jonathan Ostroff on +44 (0) 7801 629 270 or via email [email protected]
The seller speaks highly of the restoration that went into this 911 and truly it does look to have been exceptionally restored. The exterior, interior, and engine all look in fantastic condition and while non-original the exterior and interior combination looks excellent. They’ve more or less attempted to replicate the 50th Anniversary 911’s appearance and, at least with regard to the color, I think they have succeeded. All of that combines to make this a pretty rare 911. From there, we have some questions and I’ll be curious about what becomes of this 911. The asking price is pretty high at nearly £100K, even if the mileage is extremely low and the current condition is excellent. But it isn’t original so even as an interesting item for someone’s collection it isn’t precisely what Porsche produced. If the only non-original aspects are the color pattern, then we can probably look past that to some degree. Also, they make a point of mentioning that this 911 features a detuned version of the 2.7 liter engine from the Carrera RS, but as far as I can tell this is not one of the Carrera 2.7 MFI Coupes that was built during this time. So while it does share the trait of having a 2.7 liter flat-six, just as the legendary Carrera RS did, the engine here features the Bosch CIS rather than the RS’s mechanical injection. This is definitely an interesting and beautiful 911, and surely one of the best Sportomatics available, I’m just not entirely sure what to make of it especially with regard to its value.
-Rob
