Do people really think the 914 is ugly? I never thought so. Options

[scottsilvertt]

Do people really think the 914 is ugly? I never thought so.

I have seen far uglier cars...many of them. Even most cars today are not worth a second look.

I remember it coming out as a kid. So many had poor things to say about the 914. My older brother was Chalon crazy. (he liked the car on his own with no outside influences)
Sadly, I listened to friends and the press...and was too young to form my own opinion.

What had people not liking the car?

what's not to like:
the pop up headlights...about as cool as it can get
the trick removable roof.
the two storage spaces
the engine in the middle? who does that, its amazing.
the simple, never out of style interior.
the lightest seats in the world.
the Italian style door handles. flush and wonderful.

I think of it as another little 904.
a good red one looks like a Ferrari to me.
a friend of mine had a gold, low mileage second gen , angled shaped, Dino (from around 1976). yes, it was neat, but I like the 914 better.

I cannot get enough of the car. I'm more fascinated with it more today than any earlier decade.
I mean the car was incredible at Le Mans.

I knew a guy who said he had over 20 of the cars...and could look at them all day.
what an amazing car that was 50 years ahead of its time.
I can't think of a single high production car, in all history that was more unique, and stayed unique for decades.




spending time with an airplane, and what color is this??


4x4 in the mountains of Europe

[Pursang]

Thanks Scott. That was a well written tribute. There are always those who will dismiss the 914. That is their opinion and I don't really care. What is important to remember is that there are admirers and detractors for just about every make and model of car. Or airplane. Or boat. Whatever.

I think that Muhammad Ali said it best (although I an entirely different context (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) ) "Different strokes for different folks").

[mlindner]

Not me, love them.

[Steve]

I think it was mainly when it first came out. American cars from the 60’s had a rear with pointy things that resembled rockets or jet engines, because of the space race with Russia. There were comments that you can’t tell if a 914 was coming or going because the rear was smooth and the front had the pointy projectiles. It also looks like a picnic basket with a black handle. The 914 design is form follows function, so nerds like myself is attracted to it.

[mepstein]

I wish more people thought they were ugly. I’d rather they be undesirable and low priced. I still want to buy a couple more.

[bbrock]

You are asking a very biased audience of course, but for me, it was love at first sight. As a kid, my interest in cars was pretty much limited to Hot Wheels and Aurora HO scale slot cars. Of course there were Ford GTs and 917s in the collection but I didn't pay that much attention to what was a Ford, Porsche, or whatever. As for actual cars, corvettes and the Batmobile were cool. Not much else grabbed my attention. Not even the corvairs that my uncle had and I would now love to own. Then one day my mom was driving me to the Schwinn bicycle shop and I spotted the first 914 I can remember seeing. Adriatic blue I believe. I thought it was the coolest car I had ever seen. So different from anything else and somehow made perfect sense on an instinctual level. Luckily, the car had negative side stripes so I knew it was a Porsche. That was the spark and I knew that when I had money to buy my first car, it would be a 914.

Funny that I only started paying attention to 911s after my intro to the 914. I didn't like them at first. They looked too much like a beetle, and beetles were just a cheap car for getting around town while looking awkward at best and making funky engine noises. Of course my taste for beetles and 911s have changed since then. Or maybe I just had no taste back then since I preferred the ugly 914 over the timeless classic shape of a 911. A lot of kids my age thought the same way and that might have something to do with it. A lot of us on the forum are "kids my age" and maybe there is something about being introduced to a car way ahead of its time at an age when we were receptive to such things.

I'm with OP on most modern cars. I think we are in a dark age of car styling. I'm so sick of the "angry birds" styling of modern cars. Not a fan of the pastel clay colors for paint either. Trendy rather than timeless. Then the ID.Buzz appears and I have hope. Nice to see a car smiling again.

[StarBear]

914 styling is timeless; has never gone out of style despite many cultural and design evolutions. Smooth and simple; nothing needed.

[Superhawk996]

I’m not going to say a 914 is ugly but I definitely think the Dino is a far more elegant design. The 914 is how shall I say . . . Germanic. Form follows function. Quirky, unique. I like it for those reasons but I value a 914 for it’s steering and handling far more than I care about styling.

[AZBanks]

There are two kinds of people in the world.

Those who think the 914 is beautiful,
And those who are wrong.

[Geezer914]

AZbanks nailed it!

[Alain V.]

I’ve never thought of the 914 as ugly,,,,,,,except for the USA version front side marker lights. Whoever was responsible for those should have been beaten with a rubber hose.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/chair.gif)

[KELTY360]

I’ve never thought of the 914 as ugly,,,,,,,except for the USA version front side marker lights. Whoever was responsible for those should have been beaten with a rubber hose.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/chair.gif)

That would be the USDOT that was mandating safety measures. They were right about seat belts…except most people refused to use them.

[bbrock]

I’ve never thought of the 914 as ugly,,,,,,,except for the USA version front side marker lights. Whoever was responsible for those should have been beaten with a rubber hose.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/chair.gif)

That would be the USDOT that was mandating safety measures. They were right about seat belts…except most people refused to use them.

I tend to think they were right about side markers too, especially given how the average size of passenger vehicles has escalated. But there are right ways and wrong ways to do them. What Porsche did to the 914 was the wrong way.

[bkrantz]

Just to play devil's (critic's) advocate, a few design features that might challenge the unsophisticated:

Narrow front fender "wings"
A car with two "rear ends"
Targa bar, including the side panel curve
A bit slab-sided
Not a "fastback"

[Chris H.]

I’ve never thought of the 914 as ugly,,,,,,,except for the USA version front side marker lights. Whoever was responsible for those should have been beaten with a rubber hose.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/chair.gif)

That would be the USDOT that was mandating safety measures. They were right about seat belts…except most people refused to use them.

Safety regulations are also the reason the nose of the US cars were delivered so much higher than the rear. Bumper height requirements I think.

[Jamie]

I’ve never thought of the 914 as ugly,,,,,,,except for the USA version front side marker lights. Whoever was responsible for those should have been beaten with a rubber hose.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/chair.gif)

That would be the USDOT that was mandating safety measures. They were right about seat belts…except most people refused to use them.

Safety regulations are also the reason the nose of the US cars were delivered so much higher than the rear. Bumper height requirements I think.

I was informed the elevated nose was actually done to raise headlight height to satisfy a USA requirement.

[VaccaRabite]

Compared to other sports cars in the late 60s and early 70s, the 914 is certainly an odd duck. I can't call it a beautiful car, even though its one of my favorites.

If you think of all the classic sports cars of the era, they are swoopy. They have curves. The 914 is blocky. It was very un-Porsche. And I don't think that played well for the Porsche geeks of the time that were used to curvy and sleek 356s and 911s. And Porsche learned that lesson making the 924, 944, and 928, Boxster, etc. sleek and curvy. It isn't until the modern Porsche SUVs that you are seeing blocky designs again.

VW picked up on the blocky design theme with the Scirocco in the 80s and then Corrado in the 90s, and of course all the period GTIs. But even the VW cars that existed at the time of the 914 were more curvy. And VW of the 80s and 90s was going after a niche market while desperately trying to keep their doors open in the US market (where they were saved by another curvy car - the "New" Beetle.)

The 914 isn't beautiful. It is quirky. It stands out. And I like that.

Zach

[B3owulf]

I thought they were ugly until I saw one in person. The first one I actually saw I was fascinated with. Before I thought they were boxy and plain.

I think a lot of the subtle curves get lost in pictures and you need to see it in person to appreciate it.

I also think wheels matter a lot on this car. The right wheels really make it jump out at you.

[Mikey914]

For looks, it's interesting, very unique, and truly a great all around car. But once you drive it, your hooked. I'm reminded of this every time it's been awhile and I jump in my car.

[wonkipop]

914 styling is timeless; has never gone out of style despite many cultural and design evolutions. Smooth and simple; nothing needed.

i'd go further.
its out. as in outside. its time.
its never been in a time?
(maybe thats what timeless is? but its a very misused term these days).

it isn't even late 60s or early 70s from a high design point of view.

its definitely original.

and it is not classicism.
like a 911 is.
which is the usual cliche of timeless.

all it is in the end is a car that doesn't fit in.
easy prey for insults from the fitters in.

thats why i like it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)