Last Call: Where are my Porsche 914 guys at?

Colby Buchanan

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Comments

I find it so interesting how the Porsche 914 has such a cult following and yet they don’t really look anything like a Porsche. I would guess that most people think of the froggy face and sloping rear end. With the 914, we instead get a box that somehow looks good.

On a different tangent, I don’t know whether or not the diehards prefer the original 914 or the 914/6. In my head, I see it as a Subaru WRX to STi ordeal. The STi guys are a different breed completely and therefore are in an elite group of their own. Is the case with the 914/6? Either way, it’s a great looking car and I found it hilarious that the starting bid on this one is $914 at the time of writing. Would you snag this one for the right price?

Last Call indicates the end of Hooniverse’s broadcast day. It’s meant to be an open forum for anyone and anything. Thread jacking is not only accepted, it’s encouraged.

About

Colby Buchanan

Colby Buchanan

My name is Colby Buchanan and I love all things car-related all the way from rusted 240sx’s to McLaren Senna’s and of course I have a soft spot for American Muscle. You can spot me in my bone stock ’06 350z named MackenZ.

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14 responses to “Last Call: Where are my Porsche 914 guys at?”

  1. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    I think I mostly found out about the 914 from Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed, and it was a fun little car there (plus, targas and plaid seats are both great things). I think the non-basket case ones will price themselves out of feasibility for me before I could swing the spare money and space.

    Reply
  2. bv911 Avatar
    bv911

    They got a tough deal, being Porsche’s, it was expensive to fix one up.

    Being “VW-Porsche’s” you were never going to make back the money you sunk in.

    Not being galvanized, and with their oh-so-strategic battery placement, a huge chunk of them have dissolved to their base elements.

    But they handle like a dream, and sit so low it’s comical!

    Hope it ends up in good hands…

    Reply
  3. 0A5599 Avatar
    0A5599

    Most adults don’t have much, if any, recall of events that happened in their first five years, but one of my distinct memories happened during my first year at school. My carpool-mate’s mom got a new car. The three of us (the mom, her kid, and me) were lined up in the single row of seating, and even though the weather was slightly crisp, there was no roof on the car; the mom wanted to savor the targa experience.

    I distinctly remember the look of the car and later came to realize it had been a 914. But the exhaust sound was unmistakable, and even as a mere tot, I wanted to compliment her new ride.

    “NICE Volkswagen!”

    I don’t remember what she said to “correct” me, but do remember she was annoyed.

    Reply
    1. nanoop Avatar
      nanoop

      I had a similar school run experience, but it was a white 924 with BW/Pasha upholstery…

      Reply
  4. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    I’ve known about the 914 for my whole life because My uncle had one from when it was new until sometime in the 2000s. I even took a ride from Boston to Portland, Maine as the “backseat” passenger when I was small enough to do that.

    I think my favorite of the un-loved Porsche variants is the ’76 912E with it’s awkward bumpers, embarrassing VW engine, and lack of a Targa option it’s still a fairly reliable car that looks enough like a 911 for me.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2bbc15c7adac38b9542d901bbc6b9260735cbaa3a57790701759070ee117d0c0.jpg

    Reply
    1. I_Borgward Avatar
      I_Borgward

      Sign me up!

      Reply
    2. Zentropy Avatar
      Zentropy

      Came here to say the same. I personally like the 914 for what it is, but I’ve been a 912 fan for ages. The 912 handles better than a comparable 911, and who needs speed when you’re carving twists and looking that good???

      Too bad collectors have recognized the 912 as a gem in recent years– the prices have really skyrocketed.

      Reply
    3. neight428 Avatar
      neight428

      My father-in-law had a 912, probably a ’71 or ’72. It obviously didn’t have a lot of power by he still talks about how stable it was at speed compared to what he was used to back then.

      Reply
  5. I_Borgward Avatar
    I_Borgward

    The 914 was popular for electric conversions. Back when I was considering building my own conversion (say, 10 to 15 years ago), I would regularly find them on Craigslist for anywhere from $1K to $2K in driveable condition, basket cases a bit less. Now, of course, you can buy a turnkey factory electric for not a lot more money than what decent conversion components alone would cost.

    Now they’re ascending as collectibles, and there’s the Porsche penalty when it comes time for parts. Looks like the 914 ship has sailed to join the yachts.

    Reply
    1. Manic_King Avatar
      Manic_King

      Maybe the Porsche penalty is less for older Porsches. As a 928 owner, I’ve bought many parts and basic things are not that expensive, oil filter 10; 8 spark plugs by NGK 20.-, cable kit 200 (for V8, so a lot of plug wire), sunroof seals kit 70.-, oils, brake pads etc. as usual.
      Then there’s this massive and very friendly ecosystem, I needed someone to rebuild my MAF sensor and there’s at lest 6-7 guys for that all over the world, the one I chose tested rebuilt part on his own car to be sure everything’s fine. Just very friendly and helpful bunch of people, same for 914 probably, too.

      Reply
  6. Lokki Avatar
    Lokki

    I am an old Boomer but the 914/4 never sang to me. It is just such a Bauhaus design, especially compared to the lovely, curved and flowing 911T of the era which is somewhat like the shape of a beautiful woman’s breast. If you will forgive me for the visual, the 914 reminds me of a 911 that’s had a mastectomy… a sad fate indeed. It wouldn’t have been much harder to at least make it pretty…but nooooooo, not those Germans.

    At the time, we who had heard the rumors of a mid-engined Porsche with a 4 cylinder all expected it would look like the fabulous Porsche 904 – instead we got a design that looked like a half-opened sardine tin.

    And then as 0A5599 points out, everybody knew the sound of a VW engine in that day and time. You could call it a Porsche all you wanted but the sound of that flat-4 gave away the game.

    The 914/6 was a different beast. It was a respectable and respected performer. However it was doomed by the, ah, easy availability of its weak sister. A 914/6 owner, off the track, probably got pretty tired of the “Doesn’t this have a Bug engine in it?” question since most 914’s chuffed along as well as they could with those 80 clattery horsepower.

    Reply
  7. SlowJoeCrow Avatar
    SlowJoeCrow

    I always thought the 914 was an interesting car since I was in grade school when they came out. On the subject of looks, in Sunday Driver Brock Yates described the 914 as looking like a transistor radio and he wasn’t wrong.

    That said, I think my mid engine two seater of choice these days would be a Toyota MR2 because 914s are stupid expensive and X1/9s are a recipe for heartbreak.

    Reply
  8. Rover 1 Avatar
    Rover 1

    The Porsche 911 headlight on it’s front wing was abstracted just a little bit too far to being just an oval indicator. Perhaps if it was colored white instead of orange, it would have been more obvious?

    http://www.californiaclassix.com/images3/c502-frontdetail-thumb.jpg

    Reply
  9. Steeeveee Avatar
    Steeeveee

    Wow what a beautiful car! This is something. The headlights are very cool. A car with soul and character. I remember when computers first appeared, I drove this one in races. https://big-ben.co/

    Reply