HomeMediaPorsche 914 finally gets its place on the show field

Porsche 914 finally gets its place on the show field

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Porsche 914 was a featured class at the Amelia Island concours | Andy Reid photos
Porsche 914 was a featured class at the Amelia Island concours | Andy Reid photos

The Porsche 914 is a model that was unloved and discounted by Porsche purists almost since its introduction. Derided as a Volkswagen and not worthy of the Porsche nameplate, these cars suffered for decades.

However, something has changed over the last 10 years. These formerly unloved Porsche cars have had a renaissance of sorts and prices have risen as the demand for good examples has increased.

A few years ago, a nice, all-original 914 could be bought for as little as $3,000, but these days these same cars cost upwards of $10,000. This trend is likely to continue and prices will continue rise, especially now because of the vision of Bill Warner and his amazing Amelia island Concours.

Last weekend, the concours featured the 914 with a great display of these terrific cars, with everything from street cars and race cars to special-build models such as the 916 and one of the two 914-8 — the one on display the personal car of Porsche grandson Ferdinand Piëch.

The crowd around the display of these cars at the front of the Porsche factory display at the concours was one of the largest of the weekend and showed that these former red-headed stepchildren of Porsche are finally having their day in the sun.

Having owned three 914s myself — a 1971 914-6, a 1971 914 1.7 and a 1973 2-liter car — I think it is about time that these underrated and great driving cars are finally getting their just desserts.

If you were able to attend Amelia Island and see this great display, you realize how awesome these cars are already. If not, check out the pictures from the concours and then get out there and buy one before these, too, follow the trend of the other air cooled Porsche models and double in value.

Thank you Bill Warner for having the foresight to celebrate these cars at the best concours in the United States.

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Andy Reid
Andy Reid
Andy Reid's first car, purchased at age 15, was a 1968 Fiat 124 coupe. His second, obtained by spending his college savings fund, was a 1966 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2. Since then, he has owned more than 150 cars—none of them normal or reasonable—as well as numerous classic motorcycles and scooters. A veteran of film, television, advertising and helping to launch a few Internet-based companies, Reid was a columnist for Classic Motorsports magazine for 12 years and has written for several other publications. He is considered an expert in European sports and luxury cars and is a respected concours judge. He lives in Canton, Connecticut.
  1. Hi Andy My name is Billy Dighton. I really liked the respect the 914 is having. I bought one 3 yrs ago on ebay. This car has a history behind it. It was owned by 2 MIT engineers .I have all the paperwork for what they did to it I have a filing cabinet just full of calculations and the theory behind what they trying to make out of this real nice 914. I did read some of it , trying to figure out why they took out the motor and replaced it with a Mazda 13b rotary engine. What a masterpiece of a job. I will give you what i can see what they did. Under the front hood they put a radiator and a 2 stage fan. You have a toggle switch under the hood so if it starts to over heat just flip the switch and away you go.They ran copper tubing back to the motor and eliminated the air cooling system. They ran 4 coils to the motor from the back trunk. There are other things like 8 gauges on a panel in the middle of the dash to the floor, racing seats and lap seat belts. So when i got it home ,i could`t get the paint to shine, so i had it painted a different Orange color. All the whether striping on the targa top needed to be replaced along with the side windows striping . I have taken it to some car snows and found a lot of people asking me what is it . They have never seen one. I get a lot of looks when i leave, because it sounds like a weed wacker. The first time i had it home my wife thought i was weed wacking the back yard.I can`t wait until this summer coming up .Should be a lot of fun. Happy motoring Billy

  2. A former 914-6 owner. One significant point that’s often forgotten is that a Porsche 914-6 won Le Mans. In 1970, Porsche had several of its new ultra fast 917K prototypes in that year’s endurance race, which got everyone’s attention. With little fanfare, the factory also campaigned its then new 914-6 with the optional factory GT package. The car out performed Corvettes, Ferraris and a couple Porsche 911s and won the GT class, and, amongst the various bigger, faster prototypes, finished sixth overall! ‘Not a bad beginning for the little bastard from Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.

  3. I spoke with Hurley Haywood on the show field in front of the 914 display and he went on and on about how well balanced the 914 was especially when compared to the 911. I would say that is a winning endorsement.
    These cars have long deserved the respect they received at Amelia. I have owned 3 different ones and liked all of them.

  4. I have owned 9 Porsche – 6 were 914.My favorite Porsche was my forest green 1975 914 1.8. I put 180K miles on it. Best driving Porsche I’ve ever had & one of the best handling cars (of the 80+ cars) I’ve owned.

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