And in a six?

Most certainly. All 914 Sportomatics known today are /6s.

Sportomatic was an option for /4 cars but there are no records of any of them ever being built.

What exactly was the sportamatic transmission?

Search Google for Sportomatic ...


Basically a manual transmission that uses a torque converter setup to shift it automatically.

Sportomatics were used by VW and Porsche. In fact my very first VW Bettle was a '72 1302S Sportomatic.

My dad had a family sportomatic beetle when he was growing up too.

Is VW's Autostick the same as Sportomatic?

George's /6, I expect?

Didn't Peter Gregg have a sporto 911 to help train him to kelp his hand off the shifter when not changing gears?

Uhhhhh, Andy? I'll cut you some slack, what with it being your birthday and all, but the transmission must be shifted manually. That's why you see the gears enumerated on the shifter. The torque converter allows starts in 4th gear, if you're so inclined, but you need to use all 4 gears consecutively if you want to move out with any kind of speed and dignity. Downshifting is also possible, but the engine braking effect is somewhat less than with a conventional manual transmission. The VW version was known in the US as an "Autostick", a more accurate descriptive term. BTW, I service the very last Sportomatic 911 sold to the publis. There was one more built for a member of the extended Porsche family around 1985, or so the rumor goes, and it was used in track events. They can be driven respectably fast by someone familiar with the technique.

Oh, Happy Birthday!

The Cap'n

Well, sort of.

Compared to modern auto transmissions, the sportomatic was more of a real manual transmission that had a bunch of gizmos to do the shifting for you.
You still have to move the stick on a sporto, but there is no shift-rod.

It's more of a shift by wire setup.

My second Porsche was a '70E Sporto. It was great in city driving because you could start from any gear. Lousy on gas though.
Auto-x'd it twice, an tight circuits, with some success. Never really needed to go past second gear. It was fun (one of those cars I wish I'd never sold) and made a raukous noise with its Burch exhaust.

I also rememer that the Factory used this tranny on one of the 956's, though I don't recall how it did.

I'd buy one again - just DO NOT touch that shifter while driving!
Pat

Or, do what i did on my Beetle sporto and put a big push button on top of the shifter and reroute the contact on the base.

I know, i know, i was young ...

I did it this way

Are you sure it was a Sportomatic? They used the predicessor to the PDK in a 956, but it didn't work very well. It was all mechanical. The electronics are what makes a PDK work.

I had that same question.

No, there's a shift rod. It's a manual gearbox coupled to a vacuum servo-controlled clutch... the torque converter is there to lessen shocks to the drivetrain. The shifter is directly coupled to the transmission just like any other manual. A microswitch at the base of the shifter disengages the clutch when touched, engagement
is upon release which is why you keep your hand off the shifter unless you're changing gears. Good practice with a standard manual too. Jim Hall used a similar
setup on the Chaparral, partly to take advantage of the multiplying effect of a torque converter, plus getting power to the ground without tearing up the tires.

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I'm very familiar with these, we own two... and would love to have a 914-6 with the system.
BTW, the old Troutman & Barnes pick-em-up that was beautifully restored as a safety truck by KJ started life as a Sporto!

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are you sure about that?
any evidence?
anyone knows the VIN?

He did, it now resides in the Brumos Museum collection....I visited just before Christmas...

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My 72 Ghia was a AutoStick car (I converted to 4 sp), VW's trans. was a 3 speed, but had pretty good ratios

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Doh. That makes sense. I clearly never had one of them apart.

....If not in fact the same?,the same idea!(stick-it!)

That's what Kevin told me some time ago. It was reported in a car-mag article back when Dick Troutman built it (Car & Driver, maybe?).
I'll ask for the VIN... I know most records say just four Sportomatic 914-6s were built, but have also heard there were as many as six.

Speedhunters page: http://www.speedhunters.com/2011/10/car_sp...14_6_gt_pickup/

Gunnar page: http://www.gunnarracing.com/Misc/914-6%20T...uck/080411.html

I know of more that that, here's a thread on the subject with some good info:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=87178

Six protos plus 20 or 21 regular production (depending on who's telling, 22) before they pulled the plug. Perhaps 28 in all. How many are left?

Peter Gregg had several personal 911s with Sportomatic... not the usual "demo" cars that pop up for sale. Like Herr Barth, he really enjoyed them.

A friend recently restored one of them, now for sale: http://www.exoticclassics.com/used-details...1563/-1/2391255