Porsche Torque

The Beverly Hills Car Club founder and CEO shares his views on special edition Porsches and what they mean to him

At Beverly Hills Car Club we’ve just had delivered a stunning 1973.5 Porsche 911T CIS Targa Sportomatic in a beautiful factory colour combination of Gold metallic with a black interior. This 911T comes well equipped with a Sportomatic transmission, 2.4-litre engine, air-conditioning, fourwheel disc brakes and Fuchs wheels.

As well as a Porsche Certificate of Authenticity copy, there’s an owner’s manual booklet and service receipt copies dating from 2016 to 2018 for an engine rebuild and other work completed that totals over $42,000. It’s an opportunity to experience the car as the factory intended. This is the last Porsche model built with the long hood body style, which gave the classic 911 its legendary profile. This is also the final production outing of Porsche’s 2.4 engine, which was one of the most reliable engines the Stuttgart company ever manufactured.

Production of the 1973 car was split into two.

The first was produced in the second half of 1972, employing mechanical fuel injection (MFI). However, from January 1973 Porsche 911Ts switched to Bosch CIS fuel injection technology, aimed entirely at the US market where both the 911T Coupe and 911T Targa were exported to. This maintained the power output of the US version at 140hp, but with lower emissions, thereby complying with US law. Porsche would use the bulletproof Bosch CIS system for the next decade.

In total 1,944 models of the car were produced for the 1973.5 edition of the 911T Targa, but only 96 featured the Sportomatic gearbox, which came as an add-on order. So our astonishing example is extremely rare and much of that scarcity indeed derives from the ‘Sportomatic’ factor.

Porsche’s employment of the Sportomatic semi-automatic gearshift system was an option for standard production models from 1967 until 1978. Once upon a time, a ‘Sporto’ link was such that it might reduce the value of the car. But now the rarity value – most notable with the Targa Sportomatic and 911S models – has only enhanced the price of these fabulous driving machines.

You can understand the sexiness in the very name of the Sportomatic. It’s a crafty technological development that can be described as a four-speed gearbox with a torque converter, which is activated as soon as the lever is moved. Essentially, you have the oomph of gear changing, but without a clutch.

As mentioned earlier, in January 1973 Us-spec Porsche 911Ts switched to Bosch CIS fuel injection. New camshafts were fitted with reduced valve opening timing. In addition, models for the US market came with black rubber overrider pads, a consequence of newly strict American safety legislation. There were further modifications, each heralding a practical improvement. Petrol station attendants had unfortunately regularly poured fuel into the rear of the right-hand door oil filler, so it was dropped. There was a black finish on the light surrounds and horn grilles instead of chrome, as previously. A rear window wiper was also added.

Production of the F-series 911 continued until

July 1973, which explains the somewhat mysterious 1973.5 appellation.

What was so great about the 1973.5 911 Targa Sportomatic was that it retained the legendary 911 look. Yet it arrived with significant engine enhancements, not the least of which was the Bosch CIS fuel injection, improving on the former MFI unit. If you have one, feel proud of yourself. Turn the key and enjoy it right now.