If you’re looking to buy a Porsche, you can choose between a traditional manual gearbox or Porsche’s advanced PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplung) transmission for the 911. But did you know that there’s a lesser known semi-automatic transmission from Porsche that predates both Tiptronic and PDK?
Introduced in 1967, just a few years after the Porsche 911 made its debut, the Sportomatic was initially offered on the 911 S and later on the 911 T. The transmission was primarily aimed at the U.S. market, where automatic cars had long reigned supreme. Interestingly, despite its American target audience, more Sportomatics ended up being sold in Europe over the years.
The Sportomatic’s simplicity was its charm: it was a Porsche 905 manual gearbox with a torque converter, eliminating the need for a clutch pedal while keeping the H-pattern stick shift. This design aimed to make driving easier without sacrificing the sporty feel, earning it the name “Sportomatic.
Watch the video below from 9WERKS TV on YouTube as they show us how this unique gearbox works.
