An Overblown Volkswagon?

            There had been a long standing agreement between Volkswagon and Porsche, and with good reason. The companies have been, in one way or another, linked since their inception.

            So by the time both cars were looking for a new model to release in the late 1960s, the decision was made to make two versions, essentially, of the same car. The cars were to be designed by Porsche and would be mostly identical except for the engine. The Volkswagon model, intended to replace the Karmann Ghia, was to be powered by a flat four cylinder engine while the Porsche, dubbed the 914, stepped up to a flat six.

            As the release of the cars grew closer, Porsche grew nervous about sharing the same body style with a Volkswagon, especially in North America. Ultimately they convinced VW to back off and sold both models, the four and the six, under their own badge.

            Designed as an entry level car and first release in 1969, the 914 was a mix of success and failure. The 914-6, featuring a 2.0 L 110 horse power flat six was pretty much a bust. North American buyers didn’t see the value in stepping into this power plant. They either moved up and paid the price for the more powerful and efficient 911 or, as was more likely the case, the backed off and bought the 914-4 model.

            As the lowest priced Porsche, the 914-4 was essentially a Porsche more in name than in function. The 86 horse power fuel injected 1.7 L flat four engine was, for all practical purposes, the same as a standard Volkswagon air cooled power plant. With a body that didn’t look at all like the iconic 911, the only thing that really identified it as a Porsche was the name plate.

            Slow sales, coupled with rising manufacturing costs, caused the 914-6 version to be curtailed in 1972 after only slightly more than 3300 cars rolled off the assembly line. Porsche purists thought of the 914 as an overpriced VW while the people buying the 914-4 version saw it as their way to get into a sports car brand they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford.

            Even though the car was the Motor Trend Car of the Year in 1970 and with numerous special and limited editions through the first half of that decade, sagging sales and a growing disdain by Porsche purists saw the car replaced in 1976 by the 924 (for further lineage through the 944, check out this blog entry: http://turnerbudds-carblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/porsche-got-front-engine-right-944.html).

            While the 914 was essentially a VW and even with the Porsche mystique, didn’t drive much harder than a well-tuned Beetle. Yes, it was deemed not a success but it did open the door of the Porsche brand to a lot of people who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford it and, in a way, this little roadster can be considered as an early ancestor to the now very popular Boxter.