Factory MPG Figure, 1970 Stock 1.7L D-Jetronic Options

[pbanders]

There are a lot of apocryphal MPG figures out there for the 1.7L 914's. I was wondering what the factory said the MPG was. I poked around on the web and finally found a reference at Automobile Atlanta that George took from some ancient factory brochure. Here's the image:



Pretty blurry! But you can see under the "Performance" section, the third entry is "Fuel Consumption", and it has a figure for the 1.7L. It's pretty hard to read, but if you blow it up, I've figured out that it's:

approx. 26.2 mpg (9.0 l/100 km)

If you use Google calculator, you can verify that 26.2 mpg is equal to 9.0 l/100 km, so it makes sense.

There are no particulars on the driving conditions for this figure, it's probably reasonable to assume this is a combination of city and highway driving.

Anyone else have other factory or EPA figures on the 1.7, 1.8, and 2.0L cars?

[andys]

It's been, well, 30+ years, but it seems my '73 2.0L got something like 29-31MPG all the time. More on long highway trips. Back then, MPG wasn't the concern that it is today, so little emphasis was placed on mileage. If you calculate it by today's California "specially formulated gas", you'll lose 2 or 3 MPG.

Andys

[Demick]

Back then, MPG wasn't the concern that it is today, so little emphasis was placed on mileage.

Ummm. Ever heard of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo? Price of crude oil quadrupled in 1974. Certainly the reason for "the 29mpg porsche" ad. MPG got plenty of attention in the mid '70's, and a whole lot more in the late '70's than it gets now.