1965-1973 Porsche 911 "Long Hood" — MPG & Fuel Facts NO OFFICIAL EPA RATING

The EPA's public fuel-economy dataset only goes back to 1984 — the 1965-1973 Porsche 911 (long-hood era) predates it, so there is no government-rated MPG number for this car anywhere, including here.

Estimated 15–19 MPG combined.

Period testing of a 2.2-liter 911S recorded 18-22.5 Imperial mpg (about 15-18.7 US mpg) depending on how hard it was driven, and owner-logged data plus the earliest EPA figure for the closely related 1976 911S (18 city, unadjusted) support a real-world range of roughly 15-19 US mpg for the long-hood cars.

This is our estimate, not an EPA rating — built from the period road tests, marque-specialist guides and corroborated owner reports cited below, hedged where sources vary. Treat it as a ballpark for planning, not a spec to rely on.

The long-hood era spans four flat-six displacements — 2.0 (1965-69), 2.2 (1970-71), 2.4 (1972-73), plus the 1973 Carrera RS 2.7 — in three US trim tiers (911T, 911E, 911S) with 4/5-speed manuals and the Sportomatic semi-auto. The spread in economy comes less from displacement than from state of tune and driving style: the peaky, high-compression S variants had to be revved to deliver, while the milder T could be short-shifted.

Motor Sport (February 1970), testing a 2.2-liter 911S (180 DIN hp, mechanical injection) over nearly 1,000 winter miles, reported: 'It could be as economical as 22 1/2 m.p.g. or as thirsty as 18 m.p.g.' Those are Imperial gallons; converted, that is about 15.0-18.7 US mpg.

No 911 appears in the 1975 EPA Gas Mileage Guide (its Porsche section lists only the 914), but the 1976 guide — the closest EPA archival data point — rates the 911S 2.7 manual at 18 city / 28 highway (12/18 with Sportomatic). The 1970s EPA figures are unadjusted test-cycle numbers and run optimistic versus real driving; they corroborate the high-teens ballpark rather than promise 28 on the road.

Owner-logged data for a 1972 911 on Fuelly shows a combined average of 17.6 US mpg (4 vehicles, 46 fuel-ups) — light corroboration only, given the small sample.

Sourcing note: One directly verified in-era period test; the EPA row is MY1976 (post-long-hood) and the owner data is thin. The 15-19 range is defensible but rests mainly on a single magazine test.

Sources: Motor Sport Magazine archive — 'The Porsche 911 S' (Feb 1970 road test, quote verified) · EPA 1976 Gas Mileage Guide (Porsche page, read from scanned PDF) · Fuelly — 1972 Porsche 911 owner logs (17.6 mpg avg)

All classics Search Porsche 911 (long-hood era) on FuelFacts (in case a later model year is in our 1984+ EPA data)