There’s nothing like an anniversary for stirring up a celebration, and the Porsche Experience Center (PEC) in Atlanta, Ga., is doing just that to commemorate the automaker’s 75 years in business. In conjunction with that auspicious milestone, Broad Arrow Auctions will hold its Porsche 75th Anniversary event at the PEC on June 10. Fittingly, Broad Arrow is presenting 75 of the most desirable and collectible Porsches, each a highly representational example within the history of the marque and in the context of the current market.
While plenty of 911 examples will be on hand, one delightful rarity in the sale is a very special 914, the mid-engined sports car conceived as a joint Porsche-Volkswagen project. The 914 was typically powered by a workmanlike flat-four engine, and it was popular, too, with more than 115,000 produced from 1969 through 1976. It was a polarizing model when new, and has been ever since. It’s a car whose detractors have probably never experienced the sheer brilliance of its nimble handling.
Designed by body engineer Heinrich Klie, the 914 certainly looks like no Porsche made before or since, but in the opinion of many, the shape has acquitted itself well over the ensuing decades. Its near-identical twin, at least outwardly, is the 914/6. The latter features a 2.0-liter flat-six engine—shared by the 911 T of the day—that makes 110 hp and is really a cut above. With 3,332 examples of the 914/6 made from 1970 through 1972, the car was not particularly popular in the early days of the 911-powered Porsches, especially when a 911 T could be had for about the same amount of money.
A year following the introduction of the 914, in 1968, the factory brought out a competition model called the 914/6 GT, which raced in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) C-Production for 1970. The Brumos 914/6 GT, driven by Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood, took the first-ever IMSA Camel GT race at Virginia International Raceway in April of 1971, and shared the 1971 IMSA Driver’s Championship.
Porsche leveraged the M471 “Competition Option Group” package as a way to try to satisfy the 1971 SCCA homologation requirement that 500 cars be manufactured. Factory-built M471 versions of the 914/6 included extra-wide fenders with 15-inch Fuchs alloy wheels—the muscular signature of a serious 914. Flared fiberglass rocker panels and hand-formed, flared-steel front valances were fitted to accommodate the wide fender flares. The upcharge for the M471 package was $1,375, and with just 23 examples produced by the factory for 1971 and 1972 model years, these are some of the rarest Porsches around.
With the objective of complying with SCCA rules regarding production, Porsche made approximately 400 M471 conversion kits as well, although it is unknown how many were installed, or on which chassis numbers. Certainly, the modifications had widespread appeal for racers, both in period and ever since, which explains the proliferation of conversions made when the cars were new, and in the ensuing decades.
The vehicle on offer, however, is one of only 23 factory-equipped examples made. It is restored to its original delivery specification, painted in optional Gemini Blue with a one-year-only black leatherette kunstleder interior. A factory Telex documents that chassis No. 9141430415 was ordered new with the M471 option, and delivered through Hilltop Porsche/Audi of Virginia Beach, Va., in 1971.
By the early 1990s, George Hussey, owner of Automobile Atlanta (one of the largest collections of New Old Stock (NOS) 914 parts in the world), undertook a multi-year restoration. The consignor acquired the car in 2021, with the aim of further refining factory-correct details. Complete with German language manuals, the service book, and documentation, this is surely the centerpiece of any Porsche collection. A highlight within the 75-year history of a favorite marque, it’s estimated to fetch as much as $550,000.
Click here for more photos of this rare 1971 Porsche 914/6.
