Car Tales with Alex Manos
The Beverly Hills Car Club owner shares fascinating historical and technical insights on the company’s prized stock…
The name Targa – which means plate or plaque in Italian – came from the Targa Florio sports car road race in Sicily, in which the Porsche team had scored seven victories since 1956, with four more to come through 1973. This also happens to be the year of an amazing low-mileage Porsche 911E Targa that we have on offer here at Beverly Hills Car Club.
The shape of the 911E Targa is unmistakable, thanks to its iconic flyline and elegant roof. This design has characterised Porsche since 1963. It’s part of the enduring legend of the company’s sports cars and their astonishing performance. Yet despite that somewhat macho image, there remains something subtly cute and charming about all Porsche 911s.
This recently discovered 1973 Porsche 911E Targa has matching numbers and comes in its factory colour code #117 Light yellow with a black interior.
It’s equipped with a five-speed manual transmission, four-wheel disc brakes and G26 Group option:
S trim, heated rear glass, sway bars, S instrument, air conditioning and Fuchs wheels. This is an original Porsche 911E, a highly sought-after original blue plate California car that would make an excellent addition to any Porsche enthusiast’s collection. Don’t miss your chance to acquire this original 911!
The Porsche 911E was the mid-range option in the E- and F-series 911s. It benefited from the larger 2.4 engine that used a longer stroke for a total displacement of 2,341cc. 1972 Porsche 911Es had steel wheels that were upgraded in 1973 – the one we have – to 6Jx15 alloy wheels by ATS.
Capable of reaching 0 to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds and with a top speed of 143 mph, Porsche’s 911E model of 1969-1973 essentially replaced the shortlived 911L (Luxus). The 911E was designed to be the more comfortable, more drivable model of 911 – fitting between the tamer 911T (Touring) and the high-performance type 911S (Super). In these years, the least-expensive model in Porsche’s range was the four-cylinder 912, followed by the type 914.
The Porsche 911 was the consequence of the honing of myriad efficient pieces of engineering.
The 911E’s designation derives from einspritzung, the German word for injection. The mechanical fuel injection (MFI) system used on the 911E (and 911S) was jointly developed by Bosch and Porsche. It’s similar to the injection system used in the Carrera
6 of 1966. In addition to more precise control of the fuel-air mixture and equality of distribution among the cylinders (compared to carburettors), the MFI contributed toward meeting the nascent emissions control regulations of the time. The 1969 types 911E and 911S also featured a new, high-voltage capacitor ignition system that addressed the spark plug fouling problems experienced in earlier 911s.
Intended as the luxury model, the 911E came standard in most markets with the ‘comfort’ package of features. These included ventilated brake discs with aluminium callipers, velour carpeting, a leathercovered steering wheel, heavy bumper rub strips and rubber guard inserts, chrome rocker-panel trim, and gold-coloured script on the rear deck.
Manufactured in Stuttgart in what was then West Germany, a prototype of the famous, distinctive and durable design was revealed to the public in autumn 1963. Production began in September 1964 and continued through to 1989. It was succeeded by a modified version, internally referred to as Porsche
964 but still sold as Porsche 911, as are current models. Mechanically, the 911 was notable for being rear-engined and air-cooled. From its inception, the 911 was modified both by private teams and the factory itself for racing, rallying and other types of automotive competition.
The original 911 series is often cited as the most successful competition car ever, especially when its variations are included – mainly the 911-derived 935 that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1979 and other major sports car races outright. The 911 was developed as a much more powerful, larger, more comfortable replacement for the Porsche 356.
The new car made its public debut at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show. Initially designated as the Porsche 901, after its internal project number it ran into opposition from Peugeot. The French motorcar manufacturers protested on the grounds that in France it had exclusive rights to car names formed by three numbers with a zero in the middle. So, instead of selling the new model with another name in France, Porsche changed the name to 911. The 911 first went on sale in 1964.