Sportomatic: How Porsche gave us the fun of a manual transmission without a clutch pedal
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2024
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Before Tiptronic or PDK, there was Sportomatic, Porsche's optional transmission for the 911 (and 914-6) that didn't need a clutch pedal. Perhaps one of the most misunderstood transmissions, it was neither a traditional automatic - though it did have a torque converter - nor a traditional manual with a clutch pedal - yet it did have a clutch. Watch this video to find out how the Sportomatic works, with special guest Charles Navarro of LN Engineering putting his own Sportomatic transmission in the spotlight.
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I attended a seminar on gearboxes in Munich in the 1990s, which was attended by engineers from all German manufacturers. The Porsche man received a loud jeer from the others when he mentioned the Sportmatic...
Thanks for sharing!
the electric clutch action developed by auto union DKW (audi) in the late 50's, used on the DKW 1000S cars. Porsche ran a sportamatic at le Mans I think in 72, it was over a second faster than the other factory 911s and it finished the race, I think won its class. The car also had electric seats and windows to make weight requirements. I read the drivers commented it was the easiest car they ever raced.
That's awesome. Thank you for sharing the info with us and our audience.
The 4-speed ‘73 Sporto 925 is a great autocrosser ime because you’re rarely getting to 3rd gear on most autox courses, so you make fewer shifts than a manual…
On track the gearing can hinder but at some tracks less so. At Watkins Glen, for ex,, mine was shifting less than manuals and running 2-3-4 through gears and back, so lap times were surprisingly (to me, given mismatched street tires then on my 911) close to 944s with R1s. 🥳
Did not know that. And that Porsche still supports it. Brilliant. Thanks for posting!
Glad you found the video informative. Thank you for watching.
That’s cool. I love to see technologies that people forgot about. It’s actually a cool system. I’d love to see a video of someone actually driving one to see what it’s like.
We need a one mile review!
noted 😉
Fun video and very accurate, which is a breath of fresh air whenever discussing the Sportomatic trannys. Lots of ignorance regarding these gear boxes. ( 38 year PCA San Diego member here who drove, autoX'd, raced my Sporto from 1984 - 1999 in the US and Mexico.) My personal experience was with my 76 911S targa, which during it's time ran with a 925/12, 15 (?), and finally a 925/17 that came from a 1980 911SC owned by a Mr. Spaulding from Santa Barbara Region, PCA. The Sporto's were an option from 68-80 model years. Do a search for the Sportomatic factory racing poster. Most 4-spd Sportos ( 905's ) were 901 based, while the later 3-spd Sporto's (925) were all 915 based. There was a transition period circa 1972-73(?) where the 4 spd was offered in the newer 925-style box. In operation, they would never shift for you. You COULD rest your hand on the 2-piece, jointed shift lever. You simply couldn't put forward or rearward pressure on it or you'd engage the clutching micro switches and go to neutral. Your hands belong on the wheel anyway! :). As the video states, you could adjust the speed with which the clutch engaged. Either slow for Cadillac smoothness, or all the way tight so that when you put it in "L" gear to start off, the rear end would drop with a sudden bump. For autocrossing starts, I would powerbrake - that is, I would hold the brake and rev the engine, which loaded up the torque converter, then suddenly jump off the brake pedal for a VERY respectable launch with absolutely no wheel spin. I remember I could get almost 60 mph in first "range" ( "L" gear). For best lap times, you had to tach it up on down shifts - you just used "toe" instead of heel and toe as you finished braking with your left foot. One great thing about the Sporto pedal set up was that the brake pedal was double wide, which allowed me to get BOTH feet on it for max threshold braking during time trials. Though I'm currently very comfortable racing the 5 spd in my 944 Spec racecar, I do, at times, really miss the coolness of my old Sporto-equipped 911S. CHEERS and "stay PCA!"
Excellent description of fun and reality with a Sporto.
Thanks for sharing!
Fantastic. Well done, I’ve spent many hours and miles in a ‘73 T 4-speed Sportomatic for many years and enjoyed driving it (and turning some heads) at Summit Point, Mid-Ohio, and Watkins Glen + autox. Tallish gearing and fewer shifts meant that at Watkins Glen on mismatched oldish street tires I was keeping up with lap times of 944s with R1s.
Every instructor I had said they’d leave the shifting to me (and I had it pretty smooth heel & toe, trail braking, etc), but thought it was much cooler than they expected. It was good enough for Peter Gregg (84-hour Marathon de la Route win) though ime an auxiliary oil cooler is a requirement for track use (Sporto torque converter heats up, can easily hit 250+ but with the auxiliary cooler a short run to /around the paddock gets it back where it should be).
An imperfect but totally usable, even darn cool mechanism (I was not looking for one, a dear friend passed away and I bought hers years ago)..
Thank you for sharing. We glad we could be of service. Glad you enjoyed the video.
My Ice Green Metallic 76 911S had the stock "trombone" oil cooler loop up in the front right wheel well. We later installed a monster-big Mercedes oil cooler in the center of the RSR front spoiler.
@@timcomeau420 Yes, the trombone was less recommended so we went with the 28-row (?) iirc (I think I don’t 🤷♂) cooler for more cooling surface.
On a 95-100 degree DC-VA-MD day with AC running, it still gets up to 230+ but generally works well.
Not sure where the rest of that went …. 🤔
Minor point, but the 925 was a 4 speed based off the 915. 73 S with a 4 speed sportomatic owner👍
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I wish they made a true modern 6-speed sportomatic. Personally I love manuals and own one myself, but I’m not particularly a fan of the Porsche clutch. I feel like being able to row through the gears quickly without having to deal with a clutch would be the best of both worlds. The problem I have with the PDK is that it’s sequential; being able to go from 7th to 4th or even 3rd in one go is so much better than going 6-5-4-3 😀
.....Interesting.....I find there's a difficult balance that needs to be struck between automating the car, ( unquestioningly making it higher performing) and keeping the "driver" in the equation. It's that relationship between driver and car that creates the fun bond, right? Luxurious or smarter isn't always more fun.
@@timcomeau420 everybody's definition of fun is a lit different.... Personally I could give a rats ass about full control of engine engagement.... I will never master a traditional Manual, I'm not Walter Rohrl. So I'd rather have a gearbox doing some of the work for me. My lack of skills will get in the way of the engine. Lastly I personally prefer steering feel as my driving engagement....... Ironically I've heard a lot of iconic vintage drivers not liking Manual like Hans stuck and DTM driver Steve Soper.... Hans has always preferred tech over driving feel. Maybe they're mentally burned out from the job..........
77S sporto owner here - nice video talking about this unique tranny. You did forget to mention one part that can be a problem (was on my 915 3pd) The vacuum cannister, that big black item. The diaphragm fails over time, and as I found out, NLA. Luckily a bloke down under (72_sporto on pelican) made new diaphragm and made a how-to on pelican to replacing the diaphragm rubber itself. "Replacing a sportomatic vacuum servo diaphragm".
Thanks for sharing!
Good job PCA, had no clue of this Porsche tech. Thank you
It is our pleasure. Thank you for watching.
I'd love to get some time behind the wheel of a Sportomatic car at some point. It seems like such a neat idea, and I'd really love the opportunity to get a feel for it.
Us too!
Interesting video that highlights Porsche’s engineering prowess. Given that a patent was just revealed from Toyota for a “manual transmission” EV , I wonder if Porsche is working on something similar.
Glad you enjoyed the video. Cheers.
Sportomatic vid was super! Very informative.
Thanks for watching!
..it's a great system if correctly set up!
Very interesting and I learned new things. Great video.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for watching.
I had a VW Beetle with same technology. ASS automatic stick shift. I worked fine except for an occasional cleaning of the contact points in the shifter..
Thanks for sharing!
I am looking at a 1972 911S with Sportomatic. This video is helpful. Although a novelty technology is this huge issue in terms of reliability and parts access? Anyone have experience to share - good or bad? Thanks
I had a very rare 77 Targa Sporto 3 speed. It was so gutless and very un-Porsche like. So, I had to find an earlier 4 speed Sportomatic transmission and installed it, which helped a lot. Porsche shouldn't have made a 3 speed Sporto.
Certainly a good point. Thank you for watching, hope you enjoyed the video.
Why was it gutless? What was the problem?
@@MiguelGarcia-vj7oo Those engines only made power at higher RPM. With the wide ratios of a 3 speed, it was impossible to keep the engine in the power range.
Great video thanks guys
Glad you enjoyed it
Very informative. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
So I'm guessing this was easier for Porsche to do than develop a traditional automatic trans?
Porsche likely wanted to avoid the performance loss of a traditional automatic.
No ratios..??...no torque ratings....??....no two-speed versions...??...🙄
Ratios are online. 2 speeds would make it too much like a fully automatic. I always drove my Sporto like it was a manual, using all the gears.
It makes no sense because u lose all the fun of a manual with no clutch, no rev matching, heel toe downshifts, clutch kick drifts, clutch kick launch.
You are, in fact, incorrect on at least the first, it takes real skill to drive a Sportomatic well, especially on track, as I’ve done many times. Peter Gregg’s experience gets a bit more weight, lol.
My PCA instructor ps, all Club Racers, we’re impressed, confounded and intimidated by the Sporto - none attempted to drive it on track - after a few laps riding along all said it works well if you know what you’re doing (they just had no experience and I had thousands of miles 🤷♂️)..🙏
Singh, - naw, my sporto was fun as hell. And you DID have to tach it up for the downshifts when autocrossing or racing. You didn't heel and toe,- you just "toed" the throttle while braking hard.
did it that way (generic use of “heel and toe” 🏄🏻… and also used left foot braking with right foot throttle some. 😎
Jon Cole
1 second ago
did it that way (generic use of “heel and toe” 🏄🏻… and also used left foot braking with right foot throttle some. 😎
@@joncole4918 Yep, and the ability to left foot brake, made even easier with the Sporto tranny, meant faster lap times because you weren't wasting time shifting your right foot back and forth from brake to gas pedal.
Funny how much complexity and cost Koeniggsegg added to their new transmission when this is a much more reliable and affordable solution.
Thanks for watching!