916 development question, for the historians with German roots Options

[larryM]

just got Gooding's 914 book (Enthusiast's Guide, 2016), which has some interesting historical stuff on the 916 & GT cars;

it prompts this question:
(which probably requires the knowledge of you few 914 folks with Germany roots or current contacts to those who worked at Zuffenhausen in the '69-71 time period)

When did the factory begin development of the 916 variant?

i.e., start on the design of the different body components & chassis improvements, and decide on the powertrain, etc??

and when were the first prototyped "new" components begun & finished for trial fit on the the prototype chassis?

(and where were they made? (?-Werks-1? - or ?)

Who was responsible for the decision to do the 11 finished cars for the Paris show (October 1971)?
(edit update: looking at http://916.dingianni.org/Info/, we see that 4 916s were finished & gone to new owners prior to that Paris Show date, so Gooding's statement is a bit misleading)

and who decided to kill 'em?

inquiring minds want to know

TIA

[gulf908]

Get the second Carrera RS book
It has a good sized chapter on the 916s with excellent information !

HTH
Dennis (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[larryM]

ah, i never figured a book on 911 RS's would be worth checking out for 914-related info

at current prices on Amazon $722 - doubt i'll ever see one
https://www.amazon.com/Carrera-RS-Thomas-Gr...r/dp/3950491112

- poked around some more on Armando's site & apparently the "steel reinforced roof " was not of interest in anyone's photo-shoot documentation of the GT's - maybe they did not all exhibit it?

when i started racing the car with SCCA in the early '90s, it was a GCR requirement to have a removable top "bolted on" which may be an artifact of this "feature" - my solution was to run without a top (i know, i know ... more aero drag... only a problem if you are going REALLY FAST, or less than 40mph in the rain)

anyway - i think i have accumulated enuf info at this point to satisfy my original quest regarding the time-line of the 916-specific components production - enuf evidence to justify why i have 'em on my car

- my one-off reinforced smooth roof is just an anomaly that nobody save the period craftsmen at Werks-1 will be able to explain - and it may be the only one in existence today?

Thanks to everyone

Get the second Carrera RS book
It has a good sized chapter on the 916s with excellent information !
HTH
Dennis (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)