Know anything about the 914S? Options

[BKLZ]

Hi there,
I used to own a 914 which was titled as a 914S.
Thinking about it this morning i did a google search and found basically nothing on the car.
Does anyone know anything about these?
Mine only had a 2.0 tag on the back, had a sideshifter transmission, adjustable height coilovers in the rear, the center console guages, and not sure what else. It didnt have flares like the 6. Unfortunately i sold the car in Ohio after throwing a bearing or something on a cross country trip. Just curious what the s included as an option. The car seemed stock to me however i had no idea that they didnt have coilovers in the back until looking at one years later. Not sure what it had up front for suspension. Just curious. This had 'S' on the title, so i imagine it was factory.
Thanks,

[rgalla9146]

Yeah, that's an S alright.
Handled much better than the regular ones.

[Tom_T]

Yeah, that's an S alright.
Handled much better than the regular ones.

You're being repetitively redundant there Mr. Galla ..... Mr Galla! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

BTW - boyz & girlz - ANY model name, number, badging, etc. - even the brand or manufacturer name - are ALL marketing ploys[b] - so thank Madison Avenue for this "914S" one - & every other one, since the USA accounted for 40-60% of all Porsche sales worldwide, & Porsche execs listened to the marketing gurus in the USA ... mostly anyway.

So not a myth - the "914S" .... but also not an official factory badged model either.

It only applied during the 73 MY with "fully loaded" 914-2.0's.

In the USA it was a fully loaded with performance group's & appearance group's sets of options included in the base price .... to help those trying to get over the loss of the 914-6.

The Porsche+Audi division of VW of America (VoA) had tens or 100's of 1000's of sales brochures (13 & 4 pg glossy brochures & leaflet fliers etc. were printed + the magazine & newspapers ads like the one Tom shows in his post above). So Porsche could hardly claim that they were unaware, as some above claim (of course most of them were not around - or at least not teens/adults in 1972).

Porsche initially let it slide, but then somebody complained &/or some exec got uptight & worried that having a "914S" would somehow get confused with or cut into the 911S territory & sales. Porsche has outgrown that since, & you now see the "S" & "GTS" on just about every model .... eventually!

Somewhere in early 1973 (+/- Jan-Mar) Porsche told them to stop referring to it as a "914S."

About the same time they had problem with the W. German Deutschmark wildly escalating against the dollar after Nixon took the latter off the gold standard - causing all Porsche prices to inflate rapidly, resulting in the $5299 Sept 72 914-2.0 "914S" price to rice to $over $7500 by the end of the 73 MY in June 1973. So P+A & Porsche Germany started offering 914-2.0's without all the option groups - one being called the "914 Sport" by P+A/VoA & US dealers. Dave K on here has a very nice Orange/Black example.

Initially Porsche saw no need to even badge the 1.7 & 2.0 differently until the dealers worldwide complained, so it was a late addition & the initial 73 cars had to have the 2 extra holes drilled in the sheet metal, in order to mount the 1.7 or 2.0 badges on the rear face. My 73 2.0 "914S" built in Aug 72 has that quirk, along with a few other early MY oddities.

In the UK they they called them 914SC & Porsche never told them to stop marketing them as such there! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Nor did Porsche stop the Japanese (JDM) from marketing them as "914S" there either! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

So why would Porsche (Germany) not have a problem in Japan & the UK, but have one here!? And frankly back in the day of 1972 when anticipating the new 2.0L "4" coming out & during initial "914S" sales in that Fall - the story at all the dealerships & according to my mechanic who was sent to Stuttgart & Karmann in 1969 to get certified on the 914 as Circle Porsche+Audi's "914 specialist" (Long Beach CA) - Porsche participated in the development of the "914S" & "914SC" promotional & marketing programs & in coming up with that name. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

I was in the dealerships back then (although I couldn't afford to buy my 73 914-2.0 until out of college in `75), & my mechanic was there at the factory in person - & we both heard similar things, as did a few other old timers I know! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

I personally think that it would've been both a better & easier & more cost effective model differentiation to simply keep the 1.7L & later 1.8L 914s with just the 914 rear badge only - as they'd done since the 1969 release of the 914 (similarly with the RoW market ones with the full VW-Porsche badging) - then simply cast a second 914S badge. Two holes, 2 differing badges - no extra rear face holes to stamp or drill, no extra 1.7, 1.8 & 2.0 badges to cast & carry in stock - done & done!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

And the "S" moniker was completely in keeping with the up-powered 90HP 356 "S" or "Super" & with the up-powered 265-295+ 911S arrangement.

As the other poster above linked, there is a post in the Originality & History Forum which I started on the "914S" ....

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=107851

Enjoy reading, tell your friends you had a 914S" if you want, & just don't get too bent if some semi-informed hair-dissecting fact-weenie wants to give you a hard time about it! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Personally - I plan to have some nice plush Lloyd floor mats embroidered with 914S for my driving comfort & spectator befuddlement!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/white914.jpg) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/stirthepot.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bootyshake.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png)

Tom
///////