Facts about the 914 you may not know ... Options

[SirAndy]

So, reading through DGVWPB again, i decided to make a list of things about the 914 that people may not know.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

- The idea for the 914 was first developed during a long conversation between Ferry Porsche and Heinz Nordhoff (VW) in the early '60s.
The reasoning behind a joint venture being that Porsche wanted a "affordable" entry sports car and VW wanted to better it's image by adding a sports car to it's product line.

- For VW, the 914 was supposed to be the successor to the Karmann-Ghia.

- From the beginning, two variants were planned. One with a VW 411 engine and one with a Porsche 911 engine.

- From the beginning, the car was planned to have a mid engine layout. It was seen as a direct evolution that started with the Auto Union "P" car and the Porsche Typ 1 followed by the Porsche mid-engine race-cars.

- The first "VW-Porsche" was a series of 6 race cars build between 1949 and 1954 by Walter Glöckner using VW and Porsche parts. His number #2 car set 17 world records at the Paris Linas-Montlhéry Motordrom during a 3 day test session.

- The first sketches of the 914 at Porsche go back as far as 1964.

- The official start date of the 914 project was August 1966.

- A total of 5 entries were submitted during the initial design contest. All 5 entries came from Porsche Design Studios employees. All entries were submitted as 1:5 scale clay models.

- 2 of the 5 entries were submitted by Heinrich Klie (who also submitted the winning design). One entry was submitted by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (then the newly promoted head of the Porsche Design Studios) and one entry each was submitted by the two studio employees Schollp and Epple.

- Klie designed the targa roof to follow the rear deck lid curvature so the roof could be easily stored.

- Klie also designed the rain gutters on the targa roof.

- Klie's initial design called for dual headlights that could pivot behind a "grill" in the front bumper when retracted and could act as a "headlight flasher".

- The "914S" designation was first used to describe Ferdinand Piech's red 914-8 prototype.

- Initially the front and rear bumpers as well as the rocker panels were all supposed to be made of fiberglass. However, VW rejected the fiberglass due to their lack of experience working with the then still fairly new material.

- The front and rear bumper tops are made of Polyurethane foam and were the first parts made from this material on any production car. The manufacturer "Phoenix Werke" gave them the serial numbers #1 and #2.

- The center cushion was planned to be easily replaced with a child seat. In fact, not only did all early cars have provisions for a 3rd seatbelt in the center, they were even labeled as a "3 seater" from the factory.

- The handbrake is located to the left of the driver because the initial design call for a 3-seater layout.

- The initial dashboard design included a series of indicator lamps that performed a full check of all electrical systems in the car when the car first powered up.

- The front turn signal design went through at least 3 phases going from small to large and back to small.

- The wheel base was extended several times during the design phase from 2400mm to the final 2450mm.

- The front track width was increased several times during the design phase from 1340mm to the final 1365mm.

- The rear track width was increased several times during the design phase from 1360mm to the final 1402mm.

- The first prototype shell was finished March 1st 1968 and the car was finished by the end of April. It was a 4-cylinder model.

- By the time the first 6-cylinder prototype was finished, 15 4-cylinder cars were already being tested.

- Several of the early prototypes crashed during test drives due to mistakes in the early rear suspension design.

- The initial design had only one rear lid that covered both the engine compartment and the rear trunk.

- There were almost no factory replacement parts available when the 914 initially rolled out due to the fact that the newly formed VW-Porsche Vertriebsgesellschaft had difficulties combining the two workforces efficiently (roughly 50% Porsche and 50% VW).

- In 1973, the German magazine "Der Spiegel" printed a survey of 3,000 914 owners to answer the basic question of why they had chosen the 914. The article began with this answer from a 914 owner: "Previously, i drove a 5-seater (sedan) and at parties i always ended up as the designated driver for several ladies, thus greatly diminishing my chances of getting laid. Now, with the 914, i only have room for one lady, and we usually end up at my house."

- Excerpt from the official 914-8 handbook: "The 908 motor tends to smoke a lot on startup during cold weather. The correct time to start driving is after the engine has stopped smoking."

- Originally, the LE cars were supposed to have the cursive script "Canam" added to the side-stripes, but Porsche dropped that idea because it was too similar to the "Carrera" script on the 911.

[TargaToy]

Great stuff!

Can't wait to start alienating family and guests when I start info-dumping this stuff during holiday get-togethers. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

[Tom_T]

Thanx Andy! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I've had my copy DGVWPB for almost a year now, but with my limited 1 year of college German about 40 years ago, translating/understanding it is mostly beyond my linguistic skills! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

BTW - in my case I was happy to go to the 2+1 seating from my prior 6 seat Pontiac Ventura 4-door for similar reasons, except that I occasionally utilized the middle seat for a 2nd gal "along for the ride"! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

Awaiting more tid-bits!
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

[jim_hoyland]

Great information ! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Are there any artist's renderings of the other proposed models ???? That would be very interesting

[SirAndy]

Great information ! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Are there any artist's renderings of the other proposed models ???? That would be very interesting

Not to my knowledge ... That would be cool indeed ... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

[Madswede]

Thanks for that info Andy! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

You've inadvertently given me the idea I needed for a particular aspect of the final paint/detail of my build. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

- Nelson

[sixnotfour]

Great stuff!

Can't wait to start alienating family and guests when I start info-dumping this stuff during holiday get-togethers.

that's awesome, I will have my house cleared in no time. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/santa_smiley.gif)


Andy , great readings.

[ConeDodger]

Thanks Andy!

[nsr-jamie]

That is very cool to read Andy! Thank you for posting that. Still learning new things about my old car all the time, cheers!!

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Cairo94507]

I always love learning more about our cars. Thanks; good way to start the day with a cup of Joe.

[6freak]

Good stuff....... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/santa_smiley.gif)

[Tom_T]

Thanx Andy! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I've had my copy DGVWPB for almost a year now, but with my limited 1 year of college German about 40 years ago, translating/understanding it is mostly beyond my linguistic skills! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

BTW - in my case I was happy to go to the 2+1 seating from my prior 6 seat Pontiac Ventura 4-door for similar reasons, except that I occasionally utilized the middle seat for a 2nd gal "along for the ride"! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

Awaiting more tid-bits!
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif) .... sometimes I just crack myself up! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

OK - I thought more about my 3-seater (2+1) comment above, & realized that I need to explain a bit more what I meant, lest I come across as trying to be "a 3-way Tool"! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

I agree with the guy you quoted as being the designated bus driver with the big car, but it's also nice to have the 3rd seat in our 914s, since many Gals would go places with a Gal-buddy/wingman, and then were inseparable for the poor sots with a strict 2-seater.

So it was nice to say: "No problem, all three of us can fit, and we can drop her off at her house first." (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

The real trick was to get the cuter one to sit in the middle. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Hopefully that came across the way I meant it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

Happy Holidays All! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/santa_smiley.gif)

[EdwardBlume]

Very cool. You rock! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

[URY914]

What about the front engine rumor?

[SirAndy]

What about the front engine rumor?

The book clearly states that during the first meeting between Ferry Porsche and Nordhoff, it was decided that the car would have to be mid-engine to be in line with the Porsche race-cars.

There's no mentioning that a front engine layout was ever considered ... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

[URY914]

Thats what I thought. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Madswede]

The front engine concept came about with the 924 and its successors, I would wager. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

But I'm just guessing.

- Nelson

[ME733]

...............Thanks Andy, great stuff.

[914Sixer]

Thank you (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

[Eric_Shea]

Great read... I knew only 2 -- Karman-Ghia replacement and Dash Check Lights.