I want you to think of the rarest Porsche you can. Got it? What did you pick? The crazy excess of the 959? Nope, there were 337 group B wonders crafted. 904 Carerra GTS? 120 of those bad boys were made. The 924 Carrera GT? Forget about it, 76 of them rolled off the line in Germany. 911 GT1 Strassenversion? No way, due to homologation rules, 25 were hand assembled. The rare 916? Not even, Porsche made 11 of these killer 914 derivitives. You were getting close with the 916, but the 914/6 Sportomatic is twice as rare. Only five prototypes of the 914/6 Sportomatic were built in 1970/71.
With over eight thousand 911 Sportomatic cars built, it is significantly less rare. Internally very similar to the 911 sportomatic, the 914/6 version had the distinction of being the only 914 with two pedals. The Sportomatic is often considered the first “automanual” transmission in the same vein as the current PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplung) transmissions, only instead of paddle shifters mounted on the steering column, the Sportomatic had a more traditional shifter in the center of the car with only P for park, R for reverse, L for low, and D, D3, and D4 for drive. Also, the Sportomatic uses a Torque Converter type transfer of power, as opposed to the dual clutch type in the modern PDK.
In the engine bay sits a 2.0-liter six cylinder engine that takes the 914/6 SM from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in 9 seconds. Top speed is 122 mph (196 km/h).
One of the original five sits quietly in the Automobile Atlanta showroom in Marietta, GA. They acquired the car in 1996, and began an extensive restoration of the car. The engine had been rebuilt once already, the car had been repainted, yet the transmission still soldiered on. A full mechanical, and esthetic restoration was done, and the car is now completely pristine.
If you want to see it in person head over to their showroom in Atlanta.
