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12-17-2006, 04:13 PM
Will the real Porsche 914 please roll up?: VW-engine models still
Chicago Sun-Times
March 27, 2006
by Dan Jedlicka
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20060327/ai_n16176026
The 1970-76 Porsche 914 seemed too good to be true -- a fairly low-priced sports car with a race-car-style mid-engine layout and the illustrious Porsche nameplate.
In fact, this entry-level Porsche was too good to be true -- if one expected it to be a solid lower-priced alternative to the expensive rear-engine Porsche 911.
For one thing, most 914 models had Volkswagen four-cylinder engines and other VW components. The 914 was even sold as a "Volks- wagen-Porsche" in Europe, where it debuted at the 1969 Frankfurt auto show. Workmanship and materials were never up to Porsche's high standards.
Porsche didn't put its crest on the 914 hood in America, although its name was spelled out in block letters on the engine cover. In Europe, the Volkswagen crest was placed in the center of the steering wheel, although the Porsche crest was on steering wheels of U.S. versions.
Porsche wasn't ashamed of the 914 -- it didn't openly identify the car as a Porsche because of a marketing decision by Porsche and Volkswagen management.
Agreement or not, Porsche fans refused to accept the 914 as a genuine Porsche -- overlooking the fact that the first Porsches had nearly all Volkswagen mechanical components.
The first 914 had a 1.7-liter, 80-horsepower VW engine, replaced in 1974 by a 1.8-liter engine with lower compression and 76 horsepower. A 2-liter, 95-horsepower VW engine was optional from 1973 to 1976. Acceleration was adequate to brisk, and the fairly light car was fun to drive.
The 914 was hardly a bust; nearly 120,000 were built before production ended. The car has become an increasingly expensive collectible in the last few years -- although genuine Porsche fans still shun it. (A 914 is valued at $9,500-$13,300 if in excellent shape.)
A hotter, fancier 1970-72 "914/6" version of the 914 was sold with a Porsche 911 2-liter six-cylinder engine with 110 horsepower. Now valued at $30,950, it had better brakes, wider wheels and the Porsche crest on its hubcaps.
The 914/6 cost about $6,100, compared with $3,495 for the 914, and it wasn't as much fun or as refined as a 911. Many Porsche fans thus figured they might as well get a 911 for the price of a 914/6, and the 914/6 was quietly dropped after a disappointing 3,351 units were built through 1972. The 914/6 also produced low profits, partly because its body supplier charged Porsche more for a 914/6 body than for the superior 911 body.
The 914 was the replacement for the popular, entry-level 912, which was a 911 with a Porsche four-cylinder engine from the beloved 1950-65 Porsche 356. The four-cylinder replaced the 911's more powerful -- but more troublesome -- six-cylinder engine.
So why the 914? Porsche dealers were calling for a less costly car because 911 and 912 prices had gone well beyond prices for the popular 356, dropped when the 911 arrived in 1965. Also, Porsche top executive Ferry Porsche wanted a "back-to-basics" model such as Porsche's popular 1950s 356 Speedster, to replace the 912 and expand the automaker's model line.
Ferry Porsche wanted the car to have a mid-engine design, with the engine ahead of the rear axle. (The rear-engine 911 had the engine behind that axle.) A mid-engine auto seemed like the wave of the future for sports cars, and Porsche had built many successful mid-engine race cars.
Small Porsche lacked the resources to make a new sports car on its own. However, at the same time, Heinz Nordhoff, the visionary president of giant Volkswagen, wanted a new sports model to replace the slow-selling, boxy VW Type 3 Karmann-Ghia; that car shouldn't be confused with the sleeker Karmann-Ghia sold in America.
West Germany's Volkswagen and Porsche had historic links, and Nordhoff and Ferry Porsche were long-standing associates. That led to their plan to jointly build a car that would satisfy both their needs. Porsche would design the car, which would have the new four- cylinder engine from Volkswagen's upcoming 411 rear-engine sedan. And Porsche could buy bodies for installation of its own engines.
It seemed like a win-win deal, especially because the new car would give West Germany's Karmann auto body company something to build following the demise of the Type 3 Karmann-Ghia.
Fate intervened, though, when Nordhoff suddenly died in April 1968. His successor, Kurt Lotz, came from outside the auto industry and had no interest in sports cars, especially a new one such as the 914. It thus wasn't surprising that he reneged on some terms of Nordhoff's verbal agreements with Ferry Porsche about the new car. Fortunately for Porsche, though, Lotz had enormous respect for Porsche engineers.
After much argument, Porsche and Volkswagen entered a joint sales venture with the 914 as its cornerstone. A new company -- Motors Inc. -- was created, with Volkswagen and Porsche each owning 50 percent to sell Porsche, Volkswagen and Volkswagen-owned Audi autos. Porsche still could buy 914 bodies from Karmann, but at a much higher cost than Porsche originally had anticipated.
Chicago Sun-Times
March 27, 2006
by Dan Jedlicka
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20060327/ai_n16176026
The 1970-76 Porsche 914 seemed too good to be true -- a fairly low-priced sports car with a race-car-style mid-engine layout and the illustrious Porsche nameplate.
In fact, this entry-level Porsche was too good to be true -- if one expected it to be a solid lower-priced alternative to the expensive rear-engine Porsche 911.
For one thing, most 914 models had Volkswagen four-cylinder engines and other VW components. The 914 was even sold as a "Volks- wagen-Porsche" in Europe, where it debuted at the 1969 Frankfurt auto show. Workmanship and materials were never up to Porsche's high standards.
Porsche didn't put its crest on the 914 hood in America, although its name was spelled out in block letters on the engine cover. In Europe, the Volkswagen crest was placed in the center of the steering wheel, although the Porsche crest was on steering wheels of U.S. versions.
Porsche wasn't ashamed of the 914 -- it didn't openly identify the car as a Porsche because of a marketing decision by Porsche and Volkswagen management.
Agreement or not, Porsche fans refused to accept the 914 as a genuine Porsche -- overlooking the fact that the first Porsches had nearly all Volkswagen mechanical components.
The first 914 had a 1.7-liter, 80-horsepower VW engine, replaced in 1974 by a 1.8-liter engine with lower compression and 76 horsepower. A 2-liter, 95-horsepower VW engine was optional from 1973 to 1976. Acceleration was adequate to brisk, and the fairly light car was fun to drive.
The 914 was hardly a bust; nearly 120,000 were built before production ended. The car has become an increasingly expensive collectible in the last few years -- although genuine Porsche fans still shun it. (A 914 is valued at $9,500-$13,300 if in excellent shape.)
A hotter, fancier 1970-72 "914/6" version of the 914 was sold with a Porsche 911 2-liter six-cylinder engine with 110 horsepower. Now valued at $30,950, it had better brakes, wider wheels and the Porsche crest on its hubcaps.
The 914/6 cost about $6,100, compared with $3,495 for the 914, and it wasn't as much fun or as refined as a 911. Many Porsche fans thus figured they might as well get a 911 for the price of a 914/6, and the 914/6 was quietly dropped after a disappointing 3,351 units were built through 1972. The 914/6 also produced low profits, partly because its body supplier charged Porsche more for a 914/6 body than for the superior 911 body.
The 914 was the replacement for the popular, entry-level 912, which was a 911 with a Porsche four-cylinder engine from the beloved 1950-65 Porsche 356. The four-cylinder replaced the 911's more powerful -- but more troublesome -- six-cylinder engine.
So why the 914? Porsche dealers were calling for a less costly car because 911 and 912 prices had gone well beyond prices for the popular 356, dropped when the 911 arrived in 1965. Also, Porsche top executive Ferry Porsche wanted a "back-to-basics" model such as Porsche's popular 1950s 356 Speedster, to replace the 912 and expand the automaker's model line.
Ferry Porsche wanted the car to have a mid-engine design, with the engine ahead of the rear axle. (The rear-engine 911 had the engine behind that axle.) A mid-engine auto seemed like the wave of the future for sports cars, and Porsche had built many successful mid-engine race cars.
Small Porsche lacked the resources to make a new sports car on its own. However, at the same time, Heinz Nordhoff, the visionary president of giant Volkswagen, wanted a new sports model to replace the slow-selling, boxy VW Type 3 Karmann-Ghia; that car shouldn't be confused with the sleeker Karmann-Ghia sold in America.
West Germany's Volkswagen and Porsche had historic links, and Nordhoff and Ferry Porsche were long-standing associates. That led to their plan to jointly build a car that would satisfy both their needs. Porsche would design the car, which would have the new four- cylinder engine from Volkswagen's upcoming 411 rear-engine sedan. And Porsche could buy bodies for installation of its own engines.
It seemed like a win-win deal, especially because the new car would give West Germany's Karmann auto body company something to build following the demise of the Type 3 Karmann-Ghia.
Fate intervened, though, when Nordhoff suddenly died in April 1968. His successor, Kurt Lotz, came from outside the auto industry and had no interest in sports cars, especially a new one such as the 914. It thus wasn't surprising that he reneged on some terms of Nordhoff's verbal agreements with Ferry Porsche about the new car. Fortunately for Porsche, though, Lotz had enormous respect for Porsche engineers.
After much argument, Porsche and Volkswagen entered a joint sales venture with the 914 as its cornerstone. A new company -- Motors Inc. -- was created, with Volkswagen and Porsche each owning 50 percent to sell Porsche, Volkswagen and Volkswagen-owned Audi autos. Porsche still could buy 914 bodies from Karmann, but at a much higher cost than Porsche originally had anticipated.