Porsche 916
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The Porsche 914 or VW-Porsche 914 is a
mid-engined In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle. History The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout of ...
sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
designed, manufactured and marketed collaboratively by
Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
and
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
from 1969 until 1976. It was only available as a targa-topped two-seat roadster powered by either a
flat-4 A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the boxer-four engine, ...
or
flat-6 A flat-six engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-six, is a six-cylinder Internal combustion engine#Reciprocating engines, piston engine with three cylinders on each side of a central crankshaft. The most common type of flat-six engine is th ...
engine.


History


Pre-development

By the late 1960s, both
Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
and
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
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 Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
to replace the Volkswagen Type 34 Karmann Ghia
coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
. At the time the majority of Volkswagen's development work was handled by Porsche as part of an agreement 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 the 914 that project.
Ferdinand Piëch Ferdinand Karl Piëch (; 17 April 1937 – 25 August 2019) was an Austrian business magnate, engineer and executive who was the chairman of the executive board (''Vorstandsvorsitzender'') of Volkswagen Group in 1993–2002 and the chairman of th ...
, who was in charge of research and development at Porsche, was put in charge of the 914 project. In 1966 and 1967, German company Gugelot Design GmbH began showing a proposed design for a sports coupe built with technology developed in partnership with
Bayer Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of busi ...
to several major car builders, including Volkswagen and Porsche. Some sources have suggested that the Gugelot proposal, suitably adapted, was the origin of the design of the 914. The rationale is that an outside design would be able to please both Volkswagen and Porsche without appearing too similar to either of the partners' existing products. Later sources have rejected this idea. While acknowledging that Porsche was aware of the Gugelot design, they assert that the 914 design was done in-house at Porsche, and is primarily the work of body engineer Heinrich Klie.


Joint venture

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. On March 1, 1968, the first 914 prototype was presented. However, development became complicated after the death of Volkswagen's chairman,
Heinrich Nordhoff Heinz Heinrich Nordhoff (6 January 1899 – 12 April 1968) was a German engineer who led the Volkswagen company as it was rebuilt after World War II. Life and career Nordhoff was born in Hildesheim, the son of a banker. He graduated from the Tech ...
, on April 12, 1968. His successor,
Kurt Lotz Dr. Kurt Lotz (18 September 1912 – 9 March 2005) was the second post-war Chief executive officer (CEO) of the Volkswagen automobile company in Germany. He was nominated in April 1967 to succeed Heinrich Nordhoff at the end of December 1968. Nord ...
, 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 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 priced car. The 914 was ''
Motor Trend ''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949. Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 19 ...
s
Import Car of the Year The ''Motor Trend'' Car of the Year (COTY) is an annual ''Car of the Year'' award given by ''Motor Trend'' magazine to recognize the best new or significantly refreshed car in a given model year. Background ''Motor Trend'', which debuted in 1 ...
for 1970. Slow sales and rising costs prompted Porsche to discontinue the 914/6 variant in 1972 after producing 3,351 of them. Production of the 914 ended in 1976. The 2.0 L flat-4 engine continued to be used in the 912E, introduced that year as an entry-level model until the front-engined four-cylinder 924 was introduced the following model year. The 914/4 became Porsche's top seller during its model run, outselling the Porsche 911 by a wide margin with over 118,000 units sold worldwide.


Features

Volkswagen versions originally featured the
fuel-injected Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All compr ...
1.7 L
VW Type 4 The Volkswagen Type 4 is a compact / midsize family car, manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen of Germany as a Dsegment car from 1968 to 1974 in two-door and four-door sedan as well as two-door station wagon body styles. The Type 4 evolved thr ...
flat-four engine A flat-four engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-four engine, is a four-cylinder piston engine with two banks of cylinders lying on opposite sides of a common crankshaft. The most common type of flat-four engine is the boxer-four engine, ...
producing . Porsche's 914/6 variant featured the 2.0 L air-cooled Type 901/3 flat-six engine from the 1967–1969 911T model. This was the least powerful flat-six in Porsche's lineup. This engine had revised pistons that reduced the compression ratio to 8.6:1. The cylinder barrels were entirely made of iron, in contrast to the iron and aluminum "Biral" barrels in the engines in the 911S and 911L. New camshafts had less lift, and relaxed timing characteristics. The venturis in the Weber 40IDT3C carburetors were , smaller than the other 911 engines, and the exhaust pipe diameter was also reduced in size. Power output was . When the 911T got a 2.2 L engine in 1970, the engine in the 914/6 remained at 2.0 L. All engines were placed amidships in front of a version of the 1969 911's "901" gearbox configured for a
mid-engined In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle. History The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout of ...
sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
.
Karmann Wilhelm Karmann GmbH, commonly known as simply Karmann, was a German automobile manufacturer and contract manufacturer based in Osnabrück. Founded by Wilhelm Karmann in 1901, the company specialized in a variety of automotive roles, includi ...
manufactured the rolling chassis at their plant, completing Volkswagen production in-house or delivering versions to Porsche for their final assembly. The 914/6 models came with lower gear ratios and larger brakes to compensate for the greater weight and higher power output of the six-cylinder model. They also featured five lug wheels and an ignition on the left side of the steering wheel. Suspension and handling were otherwise mostly the same. A Volkswagen-Porsche joint venture,
Volkswagen of America Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (sometimes referred to as Volkswagen of America, abbreviated to VWoA), is the North American operational headquarters, and subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group of automobile companies of Germany. VWoA is responsi ...
, handled export to the U.S., where both versions were badged and sold as Porsches. The four-cylinder cars were sold as Volkswagen-Porsches at European Volkswagen dealerships. For 1973 the discontinued 914/6 was replaced in the lineup by a variant powered by a new 2.0 L, fuel-injected version of Volkswagen's Type 4 engine. For 1974, the 1.7 L engine was replaced by an 1.8 L, and the new Bosch
L-Jetronic Jetronic is a trade name of a manifold injection technology for automotive petrol engines, developed and marketed by Robert Bosch GmbH from the 1960s onwards. Bosch licensed the concept to many automobile manufacturers. There are several variation ...
fuel injection system was added to American units to help with emissions control.


Model year changes

Over the seven model years, Porsche made a number of changes to the 914. Some of these changes were cosmetic and others were in response to changing crash protection standards. From 1970 to 1972, the 914 was offered with chrome or painted
bumper Bumper or Bumpers may refer to: People * Betty Bumpers (1925-2018), American activist, First Lady of Arkansas, wife of Dale Bumpers * Dale Bumpers (1925–2016), American politician, governor of Arkansas and senator * Bumper Robinson (born 197 ...
s. In early 1970, rear bumpers were produced with a straight crease on either side of the
license plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificati ...
indent. Between 1970 and 1972, both front and rear bumpers were smooth without bumper guards. In 1973, bumper guards were added to the front of the car. In 1974, guards were also added to the rear bumper. In 1975 and 1976, the chrome or painted bumpers were replaced with heavy, rubber-covered units which actually made the cars more stable at high speeds. The
headlight A headlamp is a lamp (electrical component), lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage (language), usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the ...
surrounds were white from the first 914s to mid-production of 73 and subsequently black. Cars produced up to early 1972 had a fixed passenger seat and a removable passenger
footrest A footstool (foot stool, footrest, foot rest) is a piece of furniture or a support used to elevate the foot. There are two main types of footstool, which can be loosely categorized into those designed for comfort and those designed for fun ...
. Later cars featured a movable passenger seat. Other interior differences included changing vinyl designs, gauge appearance, and air vent configurations in the dash. The most significant performance upgrade during the vehicle's lifespan was the introduction of
anti-roll bar An anti-roll bar (roll bar, anti-sway bar, sway bar, stabilizer bar) is a part of many automobile suspensions that helps reduce the body roll of a vehicle during fast cornering or over road irregularities. It connects opposite (left/right) wheels ...
s, significantly improving the handling, and a change from the "tail shifter" to the "side shifter"
gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...
for 1973 to 1976, improving the otherwise vague long linkage.


Technical summaries


Technical specifications of the standard versions

The Porsche 914 was produced from 1969 to 1976 in the following models:


914 road car timeline


Chassis numbers


Concept cars, prototypes, and factory specials


Porsche 914/6 GT, 914/6 R

On 1 March 1970 the 914/6 was homologated by the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...
(FIA) for Group 4, Special Grand Touring cars. That same month two cars were sent to the Targa Florio for testing, not as competitors. These were the first two 914/6 GT cars built. Externally the cars were distinguished by squared fender flares that were the full depth permitted by FIA rules. The chassis was reinforced with three welded plates on each side. For rally applications a stone guard protected the power-train and a stone shield did the same for the front of the car. The GT cars received stronger lower front A-arms, and anti-roll bars were fitted front and rear. Ground clearance was reduced to . Brakes front and rear were upgraded to the same components used on the racing 911S model. Fiberglass panels for the front and rear bumpers, front and rear deck lids, and left and right rocker panels replaced the original steel parts. The rear air intake grille was doubled in size. An inlet in the front bumper admitted air to a new supplementary oil cooler in the nose. The car's nose compartment was nearly filled by a fuel tank. The car weighed ready to race. The engine remained at 2.0 litres displacement with Weber carburetor induction, but was extensively upgraded otherwise. New cylinder heads with larger valves topped aluminum cylinder barrels with chrome-plated bores. A dual-ignition system fired two spark plugs per cylinder. High compression pistons and forged steel piston rods were borrowed from the 911S. A special crankshaft was added. Camshafts and rocker arms came from the 901/20 in the Carrera 6. Power output was up to at 8000 rpm. Although the factory campaigned the car in rallying, it was more successful in road racing. In the United States the Porsche+Audi distributor called the car the 914/6R.


M471, kits

To qualify for SCCA homologation, 500 copies of a car had to be built. It is estimated that Porsche built fewer than 40 GTs with the full race engine. To add to the total, an additional 11 cars were equipped with the Competition Option Group M471 package that included the GT's steel fender flares, rocker panels and nose piece as well as wheel spacers, a set of 6-inch wide Fuchs wheels, and 185/70VR15 tires, but did not include the enhanced engine from the GT. Similar appearance-only kits were also supplied to dealers, totaling about 400 units. Porsche's application for homologation was successful, but instead of being added to the C Production class, the SCCA put the 914/6 GT into the more competitive B Production class.


914/8

Two prototype 914s, dubbed ''914/8'' generally and called ''914/S'' by Porsche, were built during 1969. An orange 914/8 was the first constructed, at the instigation of
Ferdinand Piëch Ferdinand Karl Piëch (; 17 April 1937 – 25 August 2019) was an Austrian business magnate, engineer and executive who was the chairman of the executive board (''Vorstandsvorsitzender'') of Volkswagen Group in 1993–2002 and the chairman of th ...
(then head of the racing department), to prove the concept. Powered by a Type 908 flat-eight racing engine, it was built using a surplus handbuilt 914 development prototype bodyshell, chassis No. 914111, and included many differences from the standard vehicle, such as quad headlamps. The second 914/8, a silver, road-registered car powered by a carburetted and detuned 908 race engine making , was prepared as a gift to
Ferry Porsche Ferdinand Anton Ernst Porsche (19 September 1909 – 27 March 1998), mainly known as Ferry Porsche, was an Austrian-German technical automobile designer and automaker-entrepreneur. He operated Porsche AG in Stuttgart, Germany. His fathe ...
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 is now 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.


Porsche Tapiro

The Porsche Tapiro was a concept car designed by
Giorgetto Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was born in Garessio, Cuneo, Piedmont. Giugiaro was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted ...
's
Italdesign Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A. is a design and engineering company and brand based in Moncalieri, Italy, that traces its roots to the 1968 foundation of Studi Italiani Realizzazione Prototipi S.p.A. by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani. Best kno ...
studio and built on a 914/6 platform. The car had
gullwing doors In the automotive industry, a gull-wing door, also known as a falcon-wing door or an up-door, is a car door that is hinged at the roof rather than the side, as pioneered by Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, first as a race car in 1952 ( W194), and then a ...
and two centrally-hinged covers over the rear engine and storage compartments. The Tapiro debuted at the 1970 Turin Auto Show. Sold to Argentine composer
Waldo de los Ríos Osvaldo Nicolás Ferraro Gutiérrez (7 September 1934 – 28 March 1977) better known as Waldo de los Ríos was an Argentine composer, conductor and arranger. De los Ríos was born in Buenos Aires into a musical family; his father was a musicia ...
, the car was extensively damaged in a fire. It was later bought by Italdesign.


Goertz/Eurostyle 914/6R

This car was a custom-bodied 914/6R that was first shown at the 1970 Turin Auto Show. The design was done by Count Albrecht von Goertz, and was built by the Turinese carrozzeria Eurostyle. Goertz, who had also done the design for the
BMW 507 The BMW 507 is a roadster that was produced by BMW from 1956 until 1959. Initially intended to be exported to the United States at a rate of thousands per year, it ended up being too expensive, resulting in a total production figure of 252 cars ...
roadster, produced a body with a tapered nose and a roofline that extended straight back, ending with sloping sail panels that gave the car the appearance of a
shooting-brake Shooting brake (sometimes mis-identified as "shooting break") is a car body style which originated in the 1890s as a horse-drawn wagon used to transport shooting parties with their equipment and game. The first automotive shooting brakes were ...
.


Gerber/Sbarro rotary 914

In 1970 Swiss Industrialist Dr. Alfred Gerber contracted compatriot car designer Franco Sbarro to build a customized 914. Sbarro installed the 2-rotor Wankel engine and semi-automatic transaxle from Gerber's NSU Ro80 in the mid-engined Porsche. The transaxle's inboard disc brakes were retained, and special halfshafts and shift-linkage were fabricated. A radiator was installed in the nose of the car, with fans sourced from a Renault R16. The engine produced , and in the 914 returned while allowing the car to reach a top speed of .


Heuliez Murène

In 1969 designer Jacques Cooper drew an interpretation of the 914 that he presented to his employer, Brissonneau and Lotz. The French company, a supplier of auto bodies and railcars, approved the project and obtained one of the first 914/6 models built, chassis 1300005, to serve as a basis for the redesigned car. Shortly after this Brissonneau encountered financial difficulties. Cooper, hoping to get the car into production, arranged, with Brissonneau's approval, for the Heuliez company to take on responsibility for development. A running prototype was completed in just two and one half months. The car was displayed at the 1970
Paris Auto Show The Paris Motor Show (french: Mondial de l'Automobile) is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently take ...
on the Heuliez stand as the Heuliez Murène. It did not reach production. Heuliez bought the Murène from Brissonneau in 1971 for ₣24,250. In 2012 the car was sold at auction for €42,889 .


Hispano Alemán Vizcaya

Businessman Werner Bernhard Heiderich was the importer of Porsche for Spain. He established a company named Hispano Alemán to build and sell customized cars. Heiderich contracted with
Pietro Frua Pietro Frua (2 May 1913 - 28 June 1983) was one of the leading Italian coachbuilders and car designers during the 1950s and 1960s. Early years Frua was born in Turin, the centre of coachbuilding in northern Italy. He was the fourth son of Angela, ...
to produce a new body on a Porsche 914 platform. The car, named the Vizcaya, was first shown at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show. Swiss authorities seized the car owing to a dispute over it between Heiderich and Frua. Heiderich eventually prevailed, and the car next appeared at the 1972
Barcelona Motor Show The Automobile Barcelona is an auto show held every second year at Fira de Barcelona's Montjuïc Exhibition Centre in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain). Established in 1919, the Automobile Barcelona is one of the biggest trade fairs held ...
. The Vizcaya did not go into production.


Porsche 916

Planned for the 1972 model year, the Porsche 916 program was cancelled after eleven prototypes were built. The car came with aerodynamic front and rear bumpers and either the 2.4 L engine from the 911S, or the 2.7 L from the Carrera. It was also to have a fixed steel roof, wider wheels, double grilled engine lid, and flared fenders as styled from the 914-6 GT cars. Ventilated disc brakes were fitted to all four wheels. The 916 also used a "mid-engined" version of the then-new 915 transmission, giving a conventional shift pattern with one to four in an H and fifth out on a limb. One 916 was built to US specs and on delivery to the US was fitted with air conditioning by the dealer (Brumos) and has been housed at the Automobile Atlanta 914 museum since 1990.


Nordstadt Carrera Käfer (Nordstadt Carrera Beetle)

Günter Artz was director of the Hannover Volkswagen dealer Autohaus Nordstadt. In 1973 Artz and Nordstadt unveiled a custom car called the Carrera Käfer that mounted a modified
Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...
1303 body on a Porsche 914/6 chassis. The engine was upgraded to a flat-six from a Porsche 911 Carrera that produced .


GM XP-897GT

First shown in 1973,
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
(GM) built the Corvette XP-897GT concept car to showcase their rotary engine technology. Lacking a suitable mid-engined platform, GM bought a 914/6 and shortened the wheelbase by . The body was designed and built by
Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian mu ...
. A GM two-rotor
Wankel engine The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an Eccentric (mechanism), eccentric rotary combustion engine, rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. It was invented by German engineer Felix Wankel, and desi ...
powered the car through a new transaxle. The engine displaced and produced . When the rotary engine project was cancelled, GM stored the car at the Vauxhall Design Centre in England. The car was rescued from the crusher by an English enthusiast, who also managed to obtain an original GM rotary engine. The car was scheduled to appear at
Amelia Island Amelia Island is a part of the Sea Islands chain that stretches along the East Coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida; it is the southernmost of the Sea Islands, and the northernmost of the barrier islands on Florida's Atlantic ...
in 2019.


914 Limited Edition

In 1974, Porsche produced a series of Limited Edition cars for the North American market to commemorate Porsche's victories in the Can Am racing series. They were equipped with individual color schemes and came standard with otherwise optional equipment. The factory is said to have produced about 1,000 of these vehicles, about 50% Bumblebee and 50% Creamsicle. Variants of this series were manufactured and distributed in very limited numbers to European markets and Japan. Along with the regular Appearance Group option (fog lamps and center console with clock and additional gauges) at $300, the LE package set buyers back another $320. All Limited Editions models came with the 2.0 L (1,971 cc) flat four engine, which was otherwise optional in the standard 914, that produced 91 hp in U.S. trim. The Creamsicle: With a cream color exterior (paint code U2V9), these cars sported Phoenix red trim, including color matched lower valences and bumpers. This light
ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
color scheme concept carried over from the 1973 911 Carrera RS series. The Bumblebee: Featuring a
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
exterior (paint code L041), these cars sported a Sunflower yellow trim (paint code L13K). Black body paint color was always an additional cost special option on standard 914 Porsche cars, but was included as a standard component on the black 914 LE cars. Like the Creamsicle All but one photo of the 914 Porsche Can Am prototype cars are Bumblebee cars. The black-based 914 LE color scheme is specific to the 914 LE cars and has no precedent with the Can Am race cars or the 1973 911 Carrera RS series cars. The majority of 914 Limited Editions seem to be Bumblebees. All 914 LE cars featured a specially designed front spoiler and negative side stripes. Additionally, all Limited Editions were equipped with front and rear anti-roll bars, dual horns, leather covered steering wheel, driving lights, painted rear roll bar trim (as opposed to vinyl clad), Mahle cast aluminum wheels and a center console with an oil temperature gauge, clock, and
voltmeter A voltmeter is an instrument used for measuring electric potential difference between two points in an electric circuit. It is connected in parallel. It usually has a high resistance so that it takes negligible current from the circuit. Ana ...
.


Other

A factory prototype 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 are a special part of Porsche history.


Motorsport

A 914/6 GT driven by Frenchmen
Claude Ballot-Léna Claude Ballot-Léna (4 August 1936 – 9 November 1999) was a French racing driver born in Paris. Career He won the 1969 Spa 24 Hours in a Porsche 911 and the 1983 24 Hours of Daytona in a Porsche 935 Turbo owned by Preston Henn. He also entered ...
and
Guy Chasseuil Guy Chasseuil (born 26 January 1942 in Paris) is a French former racing driver. During his racing career he specialized in rallying and endurance racing. Career Guy Chasseuil's first major race was the 1966 24 Hours of Spa, driving an NSU ...
won the GTS class and finished sixth overall at the
1970 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 38th Grand Prix of Endurance and took place on 13 and 14 June 1970. It was the 8th stage of the 1970 World Sportscar Championship season. Once again Porsche had a dominant year in the championship and arrived ...
.
Brian Redman Brian Herman Thomas Redman (born 9 March 1937 in Burnley, Lancashire and educated at Rossall School, Fleetwood, Lancashire), is a retired British racing driver. Racing for Carl Haas and Jim Hall's Chaparral Cars, Brian Redman won the 1974, '7 ...
used a 914/6 to scout the course in practice runs for the 1970 Targa Florio.


F1 Safety Car

The Porsche 914 is renowned for having been
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
's first Safety Car following its deployment at the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix to help manage the race, which had seen various incidents due to treacherous weather conditions.


Notes


References


Further reading

*


External links

* * {{Authority control
914 __NOTOC__ Year 914 ( CMXIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Empress Zoe Karbonopsina leads a palace coup at Constantino ...
Porsche 914 The Porsche 914 or VW-Porsche 914 is a mid-engined sports car designed, manufactured and marketed collaboratively by Volkswagen and Porsche from 1969 until 1976. It was only available as a targa-topped two-seat roadster powered by either a ...
1970s cars Cars powered by boxer engines Group 4 (racing) cars Roadsters Mid-engined cars Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles Cars introduced in 1969 Sports cars 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars