Thankfully, the flat-4 model was priced more reasonably and was a relative success for Porsche during its lifetime. Even so, the 914 never gained the sporting reputation of former Porsche models and the love-it or hate-it design means the 914 has long been ignored by car collectors and classic Porsche fans.
While some things get worse with time, thankfully, some things get better. There are car's that come out of the gate winners and are destined to be classics later on in life. Some others stumble out of the gate and appear destined to be forgotten... which is the case with the Porsche 914. The 914 was introduced in 1969 and would be produced until 1976. One little-known (or unknown) fact about the 914, at least in North America, is that the model was meant to be shared between Porsche and VW. Due to Porsche's insistence that sharing a model with VW in the US would damage the brand and VW and Porsche in-fighting that saw Porsche shoulder all of the development costs, when the Porsche 914 flat-6 model hit the market in America, it was almost as pricey as the 911. Thankfully, the flat-4 model was priced more reasonably and was a relative success for Porsche during its lifetime. Even so, the 914 never gained the sporting reputation of former Porsche models and the love-it or hate-it design means the 914 has long been ignored by car collectors and classic Porsche fans. While I rarely miss a cool car like this, the bright yellow color and fact that this 914 was sitting close to the road made it impossible not to see. I stopped at a car dealership in Ontario that specializes in foreign cars to take a closer look at this 914. Turns out it was a 1.7L 4-cylinder model, arguably the least desirable of the breed. That said, this Porsche was in fantastic condition and looked complete and original. The shiny chrome bumpers, trim and hardware looked fantastic, and I could easily picture cruising around in this 914 with the targa roof removed. The Porsche 914, especially the more powerful and rare flat-6 models, figure on many lists of collectible cars that don't get the attention they deserve. As a fan of cars that stand out from the crowd and can't be seen at every car show or meet, I'm glad I got to see this lovely example. If at some point I graduate to a serious collectible car, a 914 would certainly be a car I'd consider. And since this one appears to get better with age, I can only imagine how much I'll like it a few years from now!
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AuthorWelcome! My name is Paul, and I am an old-fashioned, low-pressure, low-buck car fan with lots of automotive stories to tell! Archives
February 2020
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