The vehicle featured in this photo article is a 1973.5 Porsche 911T.
Driving any classic car is always a terrific experience and driving a classic Porsche is even a bit more special.
The Porsche has been a very popular German automobile which has it’s roots going back to the 1930’s. The formal name of the firm is Porsche Automobil Holding SE and is located in Stuttgart Germany.
When the company was founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, the new company was actually involved in automotive development work and consulting rather than starting off as a full scale manufacturer.
Eventually however, in it’s early years, the company designed at the request of the German government, the first Volkswagen Beetle, a car that remains quite popular to this very day. The Porsche 64 model which is considered the first Porsche automobile built by the company has many of the Beetle characteristics incorporated in it. An interesting side note is that Porsche developed a military use version of the VW Beetle for the German government during World War Two.
Porsche 911 model sports cars were introduced in 1963. The model was introduced that year at the Frankfurt International Auto Show.
The Porsche 911 ran with no major changes to it’s look until 1969. The original Porsche 911’s were in production until 1989. It’s interesting to note that while the Porsche 964 replaced the 911 after 1989, as far as company records are concerned, the car is still sold as a Porsche 911. The Porsche 964 was a modified 911. You could call it the second generation of the 911.
The Porsche 911’s original body shell was utilized through the final year of the Carrera 3.2 production in 1988.
The Standard of All the Early Sports Cars
The car featured here, the 1973 1/2 Porsche 911T is considered by many Porsche enthusiasts as being the best running model built.The 1973 1/2 CIS Porsche’s are considered the most drivable and comfortable of all the early sports cars.
The Porsche 911 is often the sports car used to compare others to. Over the decades while various changes occurred inside this famous sports car, the basic outside design of the car has remained fairly constant. The Porsche 911 is referred to as Porsche’s signature achievement.
1973.5 Porsche 911T Specifications
The 1973.5 Porsche 911T is a rear engine and rear drive automobile. The 2.4 liter air cooled engine is a flat six which means that the six pistons move in a horizontal direction. Having the horizontal engine located in the rear of the Porsche keeps the extra width of the engine from affecting the car’s steering. This engines delivers 150 horsepower.
The Porsche automobile such as this 1973.5 model has the designation of 1/2 due to the fact that Porsche started to install the more advanced Bosch K-jetronic CIS fuel injection system into those latter year 911 models. The letters “CIS” stand for continuous injection system. The CIS injection improved gas mileage and was used on Porsche’s until 1983.
The car’s wheelbase is 89.4 inches and has a curb weight of 2,315 lbs. Total length of the Porsche 911T is 166.42 inches with a width of 63.39 inches. The vehicles height is 51.97 inches and the ground clearance is 5.91 inches.
The Porsche 911 wheelbase was lengthened with the 1960 model year to improve car handling. With the engine in the rear and at high speeds the car had some handling issues and these were basically taken care of with the longer wheelbase.
Official top speed for this Porsche model is 127 MPH with a manual five speed transmission.
The 1973 Porsche 911T sold new for about $7,400.
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A current asking price for a 1973.5 Porsche 911T Coupes include $27,000. Another Porsche auction price was a sale at $14,000. A 1973 911E Targa was listed in the $60,000 range. Another 911E Targa represented as excellently restored has an asking price of over $100,000.
(Article and photos copyright 2013 AutoMuseumOnline)