Porsche 914

The Porsche 914 was a sports car built and sold collaboratively by Volkswagen and Porsche from 1969 through 1975.

By the late 1960s, both Volkswagen and Porsche were in need of new models; Porsche was looking for a model to replace the 912 and Volkswagen was looking to add a sporty, inexpensive 2-door to the lineup. As a cost saving measure, and in part because Volkswagen wanted engineering help from Porsche, the two decided to share a platform, originally intending to sell the vehicle in four-cylinder trim as a Volkswagen and in six-cylinder trim as a Porsche. Although they stuck with this setup in Europe, Porsche decided during development that having Volkswagen and Porsche models sharing the same body would be risky for business in the American market, and convinced Volkswagen to allow them to sell both versions as Porsches in North America.

Ferdinand Piëch, who is the nephew of Dr. Ferry Porsche, was in charge of research and development and responsible for the 914 project (as well as production of the 917 racing car). Unfortunately for Porsche, complications arose after the death of Volkswagen's chairman, forcing the deal to be reworked. As a result, the price of the chassis went up considerably, and the 914/6 ended up costing only a bit less than the 911T, Porsche's next lowest price car. Although this had an effect on sales, people soon realized that the 914/6, which shared the 911T's engine but was lighter and better balanced, was actually a quite competent sports car, and the car became Porsche's top seller during its entire model run, outselling the 911 by a wide margin, with over 118,000 units sold worldwide.

The unique rear of the Porsche 914 Volkswagen versions originally came with an 80 hp fuel-injected 1.7 L flat-4 engine based on the unit that powered the Volkswagen Type 4. Porsche's 914/6 variant came with a carbureted 110 hp 2.0 L flat-six engine, taken from the 1969 911T. Karmann manufactured the rolling chassis at their own plant, then either sent them to Porsche for fitment of the Porsche suspension and flat-six engine or kept them in house for Volkswagen hardware. 914/6 models used the same suspension and brakes as the 911, giving the car handling and braking superiority over the 4-cylinder Volkswagen models in addition to higher power output. Porsche handled export to the U.S., where both versions were badged and sold as Porsches. Many enthusiasts regard this as having been a big mistake on Porsche's part.

Slow sales and rising costs prompted Porsche to discontinue the 914/6 variant in 1972 after producing only a little over 3,000 of them; its place in the lineup was filled by a variant powered by a new 2.0 L, fuel-injected version of Volkswagen's Type 4 engine in 1973. For 1974, the 1.7 L engine was bored out to 1.8 L, and the new Bosch fuel injection system from the 2.0 was added to American units to help with emissions control. 914 production ended in 1975 (though some leftover 1975 models were sold as 1976 models), two years prior to the introduction of its eventual replacement, the 924. The 2.0 L engine continued to be used in the 912E, which provided an entry-level model until the 924 was introduced.

The 914 was Motor Trend's Import Car of the Year for 1970. A Porsche 914/6, piloted by Frenchmen Claude Ballot Lena and Guy Chasseuil, also won the GTS class at Le Mans in 1970 and finished sixth overall.
A supercar version known as the Porsche 916 was planned for production in the early 1970s, but was cancelled after the production of eleven prototypes. These had the suspension and 2.4 L engine from the 911S, a fixed steel roof, wider wheels and flared fenders, and more integrated front and rear ends than the 914.

Two prototype 914s, dubbed as the 914/8, were built during 1969. The first, a silver unit, was built to commemorate "Ferry" Porsche's 60th birthday, and was powered by a carbureted and detuned 908 race engine making 260 hp (194 kW). The second, a red unit powered by the full-blown, 400 hp (298 kW) 908 engine was presented to Ferdinand Piech chairman of the Volkswagen Group. The 914/8 bodywork differed from that of the standard 914 in only a few small but noticeable ways. The wheel arches were flared out, larger wheels were fit, and a cooling aperture for the oil cooler was affixed to the front bumper. The chassis remained largely unchanged, although retuned shocks and custom coil springs cut from titanium were added to the package along with the upgraded bodywork, larger wheels and tires and upgraded brakes. The 914/8 was not considered for production as a regular model.