Porsche 911E Sportomatic

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Since the prototype was unveiled in 1963, the Porsche 911 has gone on to become perhaps the most famous sports car of all time. A classically Germanic blend of engineering excellence and austerely beautiful design, it remains to this day perhaps the only supercar that can be reliably used every day.

It was initially powered by a dry-sump, air-cooled, 2-litre, flat-six carburettor engine, overhung at the rear and allied to a five-speed manual transmission. In 1968, the 911's wheelbase was increased by 57mm, and the rear overhang reduced by the same amount. At the same time, some 22lb was saved from the engine crankcase by manufacturing it in magnesium instead of aluminium, changes which greatly improved the car's handling. It was offered in three levels of tune, namely: T (110bhp), E (140bhp) and S (170bhp), now with Bosch mechanical fuel injection in place of the original Weber carburettors.

Spritely and agile with an electrifying high rev exhaust wail, the early 911 was a born competition car and became a nemesis even to purpose-built prototypes on race tracks around the world. Although the S is now the most desirable model, for road use the E is much preferred being far less peaky than the raw S which is only really happy screaming along at high revs. Only 30,443 2-litre 911s were made in total of which just 2,826 were to E specification and all are increasingly highly prized today.

This particular 911E 2-litre B-Series dates from 1969 and is fitted with the semi-automatic Sportomatic transmission which had a conventional synchromesh gearbox in series with a torque converter and a normal clutch operated by a vacuum-controlled lever. To change gear the driver simply had to move the lever through a conventional H pattern. With no clutch pedal to press, this resulted in smoother changes than most drivers could achieve with a manual transmission.

The effect on performance was minimal and to prove the point, works drivers Vic Elford, Jochen Neerpasch and Hans Herrmann gave a magnificent display of driving to win the 1967 Marathon de la Route in a 911R equipped with Sportomatic transmission. Elford also drove a Sportomatic as his daily car, using it to tow his caravan to race meetings all over Europe!

This car appears to have spent much of its life in Geneva, Switzerland, and comes with a fair amount of Swiss service history back to 1988 but you will need a good knowledge of French to decipher this. From what we can gather it appears to have undergone a full body restoration and repaint in 1990 with numerous other invoices for servicing and upkeep between 1988 and 1998.

The car was imported to the UK in early 1998 by World-Wide Classics of Surrey from whom the vendor acquired it in March of that year. A London-based barrister, he used the car fairly regularly over the next ten years (including trips around Holland and Belgium during Euro 2000), having it maintained by 911 specialists Parr Garage of Surrey.

Various bills and old MOTs on file show that the car covered some 25,000kms (15,500 miles) during this period, including a fairly major bout of engine and gearbox work in May 1999 at a cost of £3,385. We are told that the car also received another major bout of mechanical work in 2008 (including having the crank seals replaced) but at the time of cataloguing the bills for this could not readily be located.

With the arrival of two children about 10 years ago the car was not really practical for a family man so it has been very little used since then, being last MOTd and on the road in 2013 and kept on SORN since. Mainly in storage for the last few years, it is now in need of some recommissioning before it can be put back into use. Supplied with a V5 and the aforementioned service history, it also has an original owner's handbook in its original wallet (in French) and a copy of a detailed Porsche technical manual relating to the 911 Model 68 (in German).

On arrival at Brightwells we found that the car started easily and ran very sweetly as we drove it around our 10 acre site to take these photos, with smooth gear changes, good brakes and good oil pressure and temperature. The bodywork appears very sound with just the odd minor blemish here and there, and it retains the correct and highly desirable Fuchs alloy wheels shod with good Vredestein tyres.

Given the way that early air-cooled 911 prices have rocketed in value in recent times, with top 911E 2-litre cars fetching in excess of £75,000, this rare Sportomatic looks excellent value at the modest guide price suggested here and should amply reward any remedial works now required.

AMENDMENT: Please note the engine number is 6298433 not 9011061015R as previously stated.