Mid-engine. Removable roof. Awkward stepchild for years. Now appreciated.
How it came to exist
The 914 was conceived as a joint venture between Volkswagen and Porsche in the late 1960s. Both companies wanted to fill the same market gap — a sporty coupe priced below the 911 and the equivalent Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. Working together would split development costs. The deal was made in 1968: VW and Porsche would co-develop the platform, with VW selling the four-cylinder version and Porsche selling the six-cylinder version.
The chassis was designed at Porsche, the body at Karmann (a German coachbuilder), and the engines came from both companies. The car was assembled at Karmann's facility in Osnabrück, Germany. The first cars went on sale in late 1969 as 1970 models.
The mid-engine layout
The 914 was the first production Porsche with a mid-engine layout. The engine sat behind the cockpit, ahead of the rear axle — the same configuration used by Ferrari, Lamborghini, and other supercar makers of the era, but at a fraction of the price. The result was a car with nearly perfect 50-50 weight distribution and handling characteristics very different from the rear-engine 911.
The body was a targa-style design with a removable fiberglass roof panel that stowed in the front trunk. This was Porsche's first production removable-roof design after the 911 Targa, and it predated most other removable-top sports cars on the market.
The 914-4 and 914-6
Two engine options were offered.
The 914-4 (sometimes just called "914") used a 1.7-liter air-cooled flat-four engine from Volkswagen's contemporary type-4 model, producing 80 horsepower. Later 914-4 variants used 1.8 and 2.0 liter versions of the same engine, with power climbing to 100 horsepower. The 914-4 was the mass-market variant — approximately 115,000 were built.
The 914-6 used the 2.0 liter air-cooled flat-six engine from the contemporary 911T, producing 110 horsepower. The 914-6 was approximately 30 percent more expensive than the 914-4 in the United States market. Only 3,338 were built before the variant was discontinued in 1972. The 914-6 was always the enthusiast's choice — better performance, the proper 911-derived engine, and much rarer.
The reception in period
The 914 was not well-received by 911 enthusiasts when it launched. The body styling was angular and modern — a sharp departure from the 911's flowing curves. The four-cylinder engine note was nothing like the 911's flat-six character. The plastic interior felt cheap compared to the 911. And the car bore both VW and Porsche badging in most markets, which confused buyers about what exactly they were buying.
Sales were respectable but the 914 never achieved the status that Porsche had hoped for. The 914-6 was particularly slow-selling — Porsche discontinued it after just three years. The 914-4 continued through 1976, when it was replaced by the 924.
The 916 — the prototype that never shipped
In 1971, Porsche developed a hot version of the 914-6 called the 914 GT, fitted with a 2.4 or 2.7 liter flat-six and uprated to approximately 210 horsepower. Eleven prototype examples were built and designated 916. These were intended for production but the project was cancelled because the cars cost more than the contemporary 911 — undermining the 914's market position. The eleven 916 prototypes are now among the rarest Porsches in existence.
Why it's appreciated now
For decades, the 914 was the cheapest entry into Porsche ownership. Project 914s could be had for $2,000-5,000 well into the 2000s. The car was dismissed as the budget option, the awkward stepchild, the "people's Porsche" without the prestige.
That has changed. Clean 914-4 examples now bring $25,000 to $50,000. Clean 914-6 examples bring $80,000 to $150,000. The 916 prototypes, when they trade, bring more than $1 million.
The reappraisal is partly due to scarcity — most 914s rusted away or were modified beyond restoration during the years of low values. The survivors are increasingly rare. It's also due to the car's place in Porsche history: the 914 was the platform that proved mid-engine could work for Porsche. The mid-engine 718 Cayman and Boxster of today trace their lineage directly to the 914.