Porsche 914s for Sale

The Porsche 914 was developed by Porsche and Volkswagen...

The Porsche 914 was developed by Porsche and Volkswagen and sold from 1970-1976 as an entry-level Porsche. It was a departure from the Porsche 911 and 912 in that it was a two-seater, with a mid-engine, rather than rear engine, layout. Porsche designed the 914 with a relatively long wheelbase of 96.8 inches for the vehicle’s length of 157 inches, but it had short overhangs. It was also designed to be an open sports car with a removable roof center panel made from glass fiber-reinforced plastic anchored in the rear to a wide safety bar. The 914 also featured pop-up headlights, which would later see use in another entry-level Porsche, the 924. At the time of its launch, the 914 was available with two engines: a 1.7-liter flat four-cylinder engine with 80 hp from Volkswagen and the 2.0-liter flat-six engine with 110 hp from the Porsche 911 T. These engines were followed by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 100 hp, based on the 1.7-liter engine, in model year 1973 and a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine with 85 hp in model year 1974. The 914’s transaxle was similar to the 911’s but the housing was different due to the 914’s mid-mounted engine.

The 914-6, with the six cylinder horizontally opposed air-cooled engine from the 911, was offered only from 1970-’72. These cars were assembled at Porsche’s Zuffenhausen plant using bodies from German coachbuilder Karmann. The four-cylinder-powered 914s meanwhile were assembled by Karmann.

The 914 and 914-6 differed further from the 911 in their use of coil spring struts and semi trailing arms rather than torsion bars for the rear suspension but the front suspension design of the 911 and 914 was identical with transverse lower wishbones, longitudinal torsion bars and telescoping hydraulic shock absorbers. The steering of the 914 was via a three-piece column shaft incorporating universal joints connected to a light-action direct rack-and-pinion that offered a very precise and accurate feel. The ratio was 17.8:1 or three turns lock to lock.

All of the 914s had disc brakes at all four corners with a self-adjusting hand brake connected mechanically to the rear wheels. The 914-6 had ventilated front discs to help slow it down from the higher speeds the car was capable of.

The interior of the Porsche 914 was designed so the driver and passenger could safely enjoy drives of any distance without experiencing fatigue. Sports-car-style bucket seats in leatherette, cloth in the 914 or, leather in the 914-6, had forward-and-back adjustment, plus four different height and tilt positions. The instrument panel included a speedometer with trip mileage odometer, transistorized tachometer and a combined instrument dial with warning lights for oil pressure, battery voltage and hand brake as well as a fuel gauge. There were two separate luggage compartments in the 914, one in the front and one in the rear, with a combined capacity of 16.2 cubic feet. The rear compartment also served as a storage area for the removable plastic hardtop. The top could be easily removed by releasing four locking catches, two on the windshield frame and two on the roll bar.

The Porsche 914 makes a fun collectible and there are many for sale today because they were produced in relatively large numbers. The year-to-year production of the four-cylinder car was: 13,312 in 1970, 16,231 in 1971, 21,580 in 1972, 27,660 in 1973, 21,370 in 1974, 11,369 in 1975 and 4,075 in 1976. The 914-6 was produced in far fewer numbers and is more highly valued by collectors today. A total of 3,351 914-6s were made from 1970-’72 and just 1,788 were sold in the U.S.

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