Whether or not you’re the kind of guy who tends to socialize, you’d have to be crazy to not love the 914 after all these years. A nicely shot video by the folks over at Petrolicious takes us into deep into the annals of Porsche collectorship. Their focus is a Porsche that some have decried since its inception. While many love the 911 Targa, this 914 Targa-lite never got the same reception.
Overseen by Ferdinand Piech—grandson of Ferdinand Porsche—in the late 1960s, the 914 was a Volkswagen-Porsche venture meant to produce a low-cost four-cylinder sports car for VW (914-4), and a low-cost six-cylinder for Porsche (914-6). Instead, things got wacky when VW’s chairman died while the prototype was being developed. Both models went to Porsche who now had two low-cost sports cars below its 911. Not good for business.
The 914 in the video is a six-cylinder. Its owner, Frank Griffin, has owned a lot of Porsches in his lifetime: twenty 356s, two 930s, a convertible D, a factory RSR 911, several production 911s. He bought his 914 in 1976 and has owned it ever since. Over the years it has gone from ugly duckling to increasingly rare time capsule. It was never meant to be a movingly-beautiful car, but the evolution of auto design has swept away its initial stodginess to reveal utilitarian Volkswagen roots and just a hint of 1970s panache.
As we mentioned, it technically has a Targa design with the hooped beam behind the headrests and glass rear window. An unusual mesh grate sits directly behind the cabin to cool the mid-placed engine, and the widely-spaced letters, “P-O-R-S-C-H-E,” sit on the grate instead of the rear lid where we’re used to seeing it.
Would we have gotten a more “Porsche” 914 had it been split to Volkswagen as originally intended? It’s impossible to know. What we do have is an incredibly light Porsche with a mid-engine design, a recipe that endures to this day. We’re glad to get a video of it via Petrolicious and that Frank has taken such good care of his over the years. Enjoy.
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