Introduction
Today, I want to talk about a car that most people have probably seen once or twice but don't know all too much about. We are going to talk about the Porsche 914 and I am going to explain why I think this is one of the most fun Porsches. I should mention that by saying this is the fun Porsche, I am not saying that other Porsches are not fun, because that is completely untrue. I just think that most of the other models are a lot more serious than this one, which makes this one a lot more fun. So, let's start by talking a little bit about the car, and then I will talk about why I think this is the fun Porsche!
The Car
So, in the early 60s Porsche needed a new car to replace the Porsche 912 that was currently their entry model car. So, they started to design the 914 as a newer, but still entry level, sports car. They were going to make two models, one with a four cylinder and one with a six cylinder engine. However, this was when Porsche was still heavily tied to Volkswagen and when the chairman of Volkswagen died in the late 60s, production of the 914 became very complicated. This was because a new chairman had stepped up that wanted more money, a lot more money, from Porsche to build the chassis for the 914.
Porsche wasn't going to pay this, and decided to make the chassis themselves, making the price a lot higher. The 914/6 model, the six cylinder model, cost almost as much as the low end of the 911s. However, with this expense, Porsche decided to stop production of those and focus on the four cylinder models instead. Even with all these troubles though, the 914 went on to become Porsches best selling car for the time span that it was sold. Porsche sold these cars all over the world and they were a massive hit. However, production was sadly ended in 1976.
Since production was ended in 1976, that actually makes the Porsche 914 quite an old car. By now, most of these cars are almost 50 years old, which is pretty old for a car. The 914 was offered as a hard top coupe and as a two-seater convertible for warmer climates. The car had a quite unique design, with some people saying the front of the car looks like it should be the rear of the car. This is because, jutting out from the body, are two red and orange turn signals and blinkers. I think that this design is actually quite neat though and, of course, it has pop up head lights!
The body of the car was a lot lower and a lot less curvy than its bigger brother, the Porsche 911. The car had smaller wheels and was a lot thinner as well. The design features some basic style lines that run from the front of the car to the rear. It is also important to note that the rear of the car featured a very similar design as the front of the car. The car has a simple but cool design and I think that it is a quite timeless design, something that we will still look at as nice 20 years from now. So, let's talk about what makes this car so fun!
Why So Fun?
The car was the little brother to the Porsche 911, a serious car by all accounts, and was the cheapest model in the Porsche lineup. This meant that almost anyone was actually able to buy one! I would first like to talk about build quality in this section, because I think that is extremely important. Now, you may wonder why I would talk about build quality, but let me explain! You could get spend a little bit more money and get a different entry level sports car, but the problem is that, if you pay $50,000 for a sports car, you don't want to spend the rest of the time spending more money to fix it and have it in the shop all the time. A car is no fun if it breaks down all the time and Porsches don't usually do that. This means that you could do 50,000 miles and have little to no problems. If you are worrying about your car breaking, it takes all the fun out of driving it!
The car also had smallness on its side. Yes, the massive Lamborghinis are cool and so are the long Aston Martins. However, if you just want to take your sports car out for a quick drive to get some lunch, you don't want to have to worry when the roads get thin. You also don't want to have to spend 20 minutes looking for parking because your car doesn't fit anywhere. And, on top of those things, small cars are usually more fun to drive! They are a lot more playful and easier to steer where as steering a large sports car can sometimes feel like you are driving a truck, which is not what you want. The interior of the car was what you would expect from an entry level sports car but, it honestly was not too bad. It was comfortable and perfect for the car itself!
Finally, while this may not be the perfect track day car, it is certainly a great back road driver. The steering is good, since it was made by Porsche, and the car feels light and nimble around the corners. It came as a manual so you can have all the fun that you would like really getting to know the car! If you got a convertible, you could comfortably cruise with the top down! On top of that, it was quick. Not quick by todays standards but, for a small sports car built in the 70s, it was quick enough to have some fun with! So, let's talk about the specs that this car had and what you were working with if you bought one of these bad boys!
The Specs
The first thing that I would like to say is that I will specifically be talking about the 914 with a four cylinder, since the majority of the cars were made with a four cylinder engine. The car was using a VW four-cylinder that was a 1.7 L flat-four engine. It created a whopping 80hp but, for the time and for the car, that was certainly enough. The car had a 5-speed manual that direct the power to the rear wheels. Also important to note is that the car was mid-engined. This varies from the normal Porsche models that were rear-engined, with the engine past the rear axle. The models got various small upgrades over the years such as slightly larger engines and better gear-boxes. The specs that I listed here are for the original model.
I want to say that you should not expect much when it comes to specs concerning speed and acceleration. The car does not post great stats but, I will remind you again, that is not what this car is about. I personally think it makes the car a bit more fun because you don't get whiplash every time you want to put your foot down! The car would do the 0-62 mph stretch in 13.3s and, if you kept your foot planted on the ground, it would get all the way up to 115 mph. Those speeds are, well I will completely honest, slow. But, like I just said, that is not what this car is about. So now, let's finish this article off by talking about some buying tips!
Outro
If you are looking to buy an old entry level sports car, this could be the model for you. However, there are some things to keep in mind. The first is that these cars are old and, while they were built well, you probably don't want one with 150,000 miles. The next thing to remember is that there are more expensive variations of the base model, such as the 914/6, that will cost quite a bit more. Finally, I would suggest that you look on trusted sales websites or wait for one to pop up on Bring a Trailer. If you enjoyed this article, please remember to share it with your friends or, if you want updates, subscribe to this blog! Thank you for reading!
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