1973 Porsche 911 2.4S Targa

There are few more significant points in the history of the Porsche 911 than the 1973 model year.  It marked the culmination of Porsche’s original, delicately styled F-Series 911: the final expression of the form introduced a decade earlier, before the arrival of the substantially revised G-Series for 1974. 

Within that celebrated final-year range, the mechanically fuel-injected 911 S represented the pinnacle of Porsche’s regular production road cars, sitting immediately just below the now-legendary Carrera RS 2.7.  

Introduced in 1963 as the Porsche 901 and renamed the 911 shortly afterwards, Porsche’s new six-cylinder sports car established a formula that would define the marque: an air-cooled flat-six mounted behind the rear axle, compact dimensions, exceptional build quality and an unmistakable silhouette.  

The range developed rapidly. Engine capacity grew from 2.0 litres to 2.2 litres and, for the 1972 model year, to 2.4 litres. At the same time, the 911’s wheelbase had been lengthened, weight distribution improved and the model’s performance, refinement and road manners progressively developed.  The 911 S had occupied the top of the regular production range since its introduction in 1966. By 1973, it had evolved into one of the most accomplished and desirable road-going Porsches yet produced.  

Its 2.4ltr  air-cooled flat-six used Bosch mechanical fuel injection and produced 190 PS at 6,500 rpm. Power was delivered through Porsche’s Type 915 five-speed manual transmission, giving the 911 S performance that placed it among the fastest production sports cars of its time.  It was a sophisticated specification for the period. 

The S combined its high-compression, mechanically injected engine with uprated suspension, powerful ventilated disc brakes and the light, communicative character that has come to define the finest early 911s. It was quick, but equally important, it was precise, responsive and engaging, the highest-performance 911 that could still be ordered as a refined, fully equipped road car.  

The importance of the 1973 911 S is best understood alongside the car that sat immediately above it: the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7. Developed as a homologation model for competition, the Carrera RS enlarged the flat-six to 2,687 cc and produced 210 PS at 6,300 rpm, an increase of just 20 PS over the 2.4-litre 911 S. In lightweight Sport specification, the RS weighed only 960 kilograms and could accelerate from 0–100 km/h in 5.8 seconds before reaching approximately 245 km/h.  The RS was more focused by design. 

The 911 S, by contrast, was the ultimate series-production road model: less uncompromising, more discreet and available as either a Coupé or Targa, yet remarkably close to the RS in its underlying engineering and character.  Both employed high-revving, naturally aspirated flat-six engines with Bosch mechanical fuel injection. Both belonged to the same final generation of slender-bodied early 911s. 

Both expressed Porsche’s belief that reduced weight, precise control and usable performance mattered as much as outright power.  The Carrera RS would become the foundation of Porsche’s enduring Rennsport lineage. 

The 911 S was the road car from which that landmark model evolved.  That relationship has become increasingly important to collectors. While the RS occupies a unique place in Porsche history, the 1973 911 S offers much of the same essential experience: the immediacy of mechanical injection, the free-revving character of the early flat-six, unassisted steering and the delicacy of the original 911 body, all in a more understated and usable form, and in In Targa form, it offered yet another layer of distinction.  

Which brings us to this example. Delivered new through Scuderia Veloce in April 1973, this 911 S Targa was ordered in the timeless combination of Silver Metallic over black leatherette with Pepita inlays.  

The restrained exterior colour allows the defining details of the final F-Series design to stand clearly: the slim chrome bumpers, bright window surrounds, stainless-steel Targa hoop and compact proportions that distinguish the early 911 from every generation that followed.  

Inside, the Pepita inserts provide a distinctly period counterpoint to the black leatherette, while the factory Recaro sports seats are both an important option and an appropriate inclusion in the most performance-focused series-production 911 of the period. 

The limited-slip differential further reinforces the car’s driver-oriented specification, while the wheelhouse trim strips provide a subtle finishing detail characteristic of a carefully considered factory order.  Across its 53-year life, the car has passed through only four ownerships. It is accompanied by an unusually extensive service history documenting long-term care by Porsche and respected Porsche specialists.  Importantly, the engine received a top-end rebuild in 1995. 

The surviving records provide valuable continuity across the car’s life and offer the kind of documented history increasingly sought in significant early Porsches.  

Today, the car presents in remarkable condition and remains in complete matching-numbers order. Its original identity, Australian provenance, factory specification and long-term history have all been preserved.  This is one of only 15 examples of the 1973 Porsche 911 S delivered new to Australia. It is one of just six Targas and, critically, one of only two manual-transmission 911 S Targas supplied locally.  

Beyond those figures, it is a final-year F-Series car, powered by the ultimate 2.4-litre version of Porsche’s mechanically injected production flat-six. 

It was delivered through one of Australia’s most important European sports-car distributors, retains its matching-numbers drivetrain and has been supported by more than five decades of documented care.  The 1973 911 S stands at the meeting point between two defining chapters of Porsche history. 

Behind it lay the development of the original 911 from an elegant 2.0-litre sports car into one of the world’s most capable high-performance road cars. Immediately ahead were the Carrera RS, the G-Series and the competition-derived models that would build Porsche’s modern performance reputation.  

This Australian-delivered 911 S Targa captures that moment in its rarest and most evocative form: open, mechanically injected, manually shifted and still presented in its original matching-numbers configuration. It is not simply a rare Australian 911. It is a beautifully preserved example of the model that completed the first, and arguably purest chapter of the Porsche 911 story.