History
Development
By the late 1960s, both Volkswagen and Porsche were in need of new models; Porsche was looking for a replacement for their entry-level 912, and Volkswagen wanted a new range-topping sports coupe to replace the Karmann Ghia. At the time, the vast majority of Volkswagen's developmental work was handled by Porsche, part of a setup that dated back to Porsche's founding; Volkswagen needed to contract out one last project to Porsche to fulfill the contract, and decided to make this that project. Ferdinand Piech, who was in charge of research and development at Porsche, was put in charge of the 914 project.
Originally intending to sell the vehicle with a flat four-cylinder engine as a Volkswagen and with a flat six-cylinder engine as a Porsche, Porsche decided during development that having Volkswagen and Porsche models sharing the same body would be risky for business in the American market, and convinced Volkswagen to allow them to sell both versions as Porsches in North America.
It appeared to be a perfect win-win situation. On March 1st, 1968 the first 914 prototype was presented. However, development became complicated after the death of Volkswagen's chairman, Heinz Nordhoff, on April 12th, 1968. His successor, Kurt Lotz, was not connected with the Porsche dynasty and the verbal agreement between Volkswagen and Porsche fell apart.
In Lotz's opinion, Volkswagen had all rights to the model, and no incentive to share it with Porsche if they would not share in tooling expenses. With this decision, the price and marketing concept for the 914 had failed before series production had even begun. As a result, the price of the chassis went up considerably, and the 914/6 ended up costing only a bit less than the 911T, Porsche's next lowest price car. This had a serious effect on sales, and the 914/6 sold quite poorly. In contrast, the much less expensive 914-4 became Porsche's top seller during its model run, outselling the 911 by a wide margin, with over 118,000 units sold worldwide.
Design Evolution
Volkswagen versions originally came with an 80 hp fuel-injected 1.7 L flat-4 engine based on the Volkswagen air cooled engine. Porsche's 914/6 variant came with a carbureted 110 hp 2.0 L flat-6 engine, taken from the 1969 911T. Karmann manufactured the rolling chassis at their own plant, then either sent them to Porsche for fitment of the Porsche suspension and flat-six engine or kept them in house for Volkswagen hardware. 914/6 models used a similar suspension and brakes to the 911, giving the car handling and braking superiority over the 4-cylinder Volkswagen models in addition to higher power output. A Volkswagen-Porsche joint venture, Volkswagen of America, handled export to the U.S., where both versions were badged and sold as Porsches. In Europe, the four-cylinder cars were sold as Volkswagen-Porsches, at Volkswagen dealerships. This "tainted" the car in the opinion of many automotive critics of that era, and a little of that attitude persists to this day.
Slow sales and rising costs prompted Porsche to discontinue the 914/6 variant in 1972 after producing 3,351 of them; its place in the lineup was filled by a variant powered by a new 95 HP 2.0 L, fuel-injected version of Volkswagen's Type 4 engine in 1973. For 1974, the 1.7 L engine was replaced by a 76HP 1.8 L, and the new Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection system was added to American units to help with emissions control. 914 production ended in 1976. The 2.0 L flat-4 engine continued to be used in the 912E, which provided an entry-level model until the 924 was introduced.
The 914 was Motor Trend's Import Car of the Year for 1970[1] and a 914/6 piloted by Frenchmen Claude Ballot-Lena and Guy Chasseuil won the GTS class and finished sixth overall at the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Follow On Prototypes
Planned for the early 1970's, a version known as the Porsche 916 was cancelled after only eleven prototypes. The 916 was to have either the 2.4 engine from the 911S, or the 2.7 from the Carrera. They were also to have a fixed steel roof, wider wheels and flared fenders as styled from the 914-6 GT cars. Ventilated disc brakes were fitted to all four wheels, and also a "mid-engined" version of the then-new 915 transmission, giving a conventional shift pattern with 1 to 4 in an H and fifth out on a limb. One 916 was built to US specs and on delivery to the USA was unfortunately fitted with air conditioning by the dealer (Brumos). One fact that may make 914/6 purists wince is that at least one of the 916's proves, on close examination, to have been built using a 4-cylinder VW-engined 914 as a base. Porsche obviously had a "waste not, want not" attitude to their prototypes that was also evident with the 914/8's. Sadly, the car was crashed into a pond and the car had to undergo a restoration before its final home in Georgia.
Two prototype 914s, dubbed 914/8, were built during 1969. The orange 914/8 was the first constructed, at the instigation of Ferdinand Piech (then head of the Racing Dept), to prove the concept. Powered by the full-blown, 310 hp (222 kW) 8-cylinder 908 engine it was based on a surplus 914 handbuilt development prototype bodyshell (chassis no. 914111), hence the many differences from the standard vehicle (eg, the quad headlights). The second, silver, road-registered car, powered by a carburetted and detuned 908 race engine making 260 hp (194 kW) was then prepared as a gift to Ferry Porsche on his 60th birthday. Also based on a spare prototype shell (chassis no. 914006), it was much closer to the standard car in detail. By all accounts Ferry didn't like the car very much and it sits in the Porsche Museum. Neither car saw a racetrack except for the purposes of testing. The 914/8 was not considered for production as a regular model. Another factory prototype, a 914/6 (chassis no. 914114) surfaced in the US in 2001. Together with a surviving prototype Sportomatic 914/6 (chassis no. 914120), reputedly in Southern Germany, they form a unique and fascinating piece of Porsche history.
Technical Information
Distinguishing Marks
There are different ways to tell which year a particular 914 model was made. The most distinguishable trait are the bumpers. Between 1970 and 1972, both front and rear bumpers were flat across and available in either chrome or painted metal. In 1973, bumper stops were added to the front of the car. And in 1974, bumper stops were added to the front and rear of the car. In 1975 and 1976, the big black bumper years, the bumpers were rubber covered and heavy. Many people have backdated their bumpers, so this is not always a tell all, but certainly a good starting point for identity.
Another way to distinguish 914's is by the plastic piece that goes around the headlight. White ones are from the first 914s to mid-production of 73. After that, it was a black plastic. Another feature to distinguish the 914 by year is if it has a movable passenger seat, it is Mid 1972 and later, while the 1970 to early 1972 had a fixed passenger seat.