A pair of rare two-litre Porsche flat-six engines, discovered in a storage unit by Hagerty’s Editor-in-Chief Larry Webster, are up for auction.
Unearthed in Michigan, USA, the magnesium-cased motors both came from 1968 US-market 911s, although the same engine was also installed in the 904 and the 914/6.
These early engines produced around 130 bhp at 6,200rpm, were designed to meet tight American emissions standards, and were often mated with Porsche’s Sportomatic transmission.
That was certainly the case with the first of the engines uncovered by Webster, with its serial number showing it’s a 901/17 unit. The engine is said to partially turn over and comes with its fan assembly, fan shroud and flywheel.
The second discovery is a 901/14, which was previously a restoration project for a pair of students at Rutgers University in New Jersey, although they don’t appear to have got terribly far with it. It also turns over but there is some corrosion to the magnesium and steel studs and the air-injection lines have been cut.
Porsche built over 5,500 two-litre 911s between 1965 and 1968 (4,636 coupes and 986 Targas) but they’re a pretty rare sight in the UK today. A quick search on howmanyleft.co.uk suggests that fewer than 250 are registered.
In fact the best chance of seeing a 2.0L in action in Europe would be to watch a round of the 2.0L Cup – a one-make historic racing series founded in 2018. With 90-minute races on Europe’s most spectacular circuits the championship was the brainchild of James Turner from Porsche specialist Sports Purpose and has seen more than 100 drivers from all over the world take part.
In the high-stakes world of classic motor racing a spare engine or two would certainly come in handy, or perhaps they could help get another couple of classic 911s back on the road? The two engines are being offered without reserve on Hagerty Marketplace now. Click here and here for details.
