914/6 GT prototype ? Options

[beltwerks]

Does anyone on this board have any information, photo's or links to the 914/6 GT prototype as pictured. Any help would be much appreciated.

Dave


(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/live.staticflickr.com-22800-1772049109.1.jpg)IMG_22161743863994 by stretch1985, on Flickr

[rgalla9146]

The S on the plate suggests Stuttgart so likely a factory owned car ? Three 901s in
picture.
Flares all around, harness for driver above racing seat. No headrest ?
Dunlop racing tires, both cars look a bit high. Mud flaps on 901. Monte Carlo ?

[fixer34]

I see a Type 3 Squareback also with what looks like additional lights...

[914Sixer]

Probably rally car prototype, they only had rolled rear flares (911 style),no front flares

[beltwerks]

I have more information and pictures of the car now, will post photo's and info later today.

It was the first 914/6 GT prototype that was unveiled at the Porsche press release at Hockenheim Dec 69 for the 1970 Racing season.

Car now resides in the USA and has been fully restored.

Dave

[beltwerks]

More photo's

[73-914]

Probably rally car prototype, they only had rolled rear flares (911 style),no front flares

You can see the front flares

[wonkipop]

from what i understand SM-2383 was a hand built testing prototype 914/6, also used for some of the very early promotional photography. you can see in some of the early promo shots that it had trunk lid prop bars instead of springs as protos did.

if the car retained its plates and they were not shifted around to other cars, it must have then gone on to be the 914 R prototype or GT proto that was used for initial homologation? as in above posted photos.

i read somewhere, but now can't remember where, so going off memory but the 914/6 GT prototype was built up from one of 20 914/6 pre production prototypes built in 1968?
serial number 914.119? the last one 120 was a sporto prototype according to this website info here. 119 isn't listed as existing. piech's 8 and ferry p's 8 were two others from that batch.

so is this (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) prototype 914.119?

[SirAndy]

from what i understand SM-2383 was a hand built testing prototype 914/6, also used for some of the very early promotional photography. you can see in some of the early promo shots that it had trunk lid prop bars instead of springs as protos did.

if the car retained its plates and they were not shifted around to other cars, it must have then gone on to be the 914 R prototype or GT proto that was used for initial homologation? as in above posted photos.

i read somewhere, but now can't remember where, so going off memory but the 914/6 GT prototype was built up from one of 20 914/6 pre production prototypes built in 1968?
serial number 914.119? the last one 120 was a sporto prototype according to this website info here. 119 isn't listed as existing. piech's 8 and ferry p's 8 were two others from that batch.

so is this (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) prototype 914.119?

No, those plates were freely moved around to make a car temporarily road-worthy and didn't belong to any specific car.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/chowtime.gif)

[wonkipop]

from what i understand SM-2383 was a hand built testing prototype 914/6, also used for some of the very early promotional photography. you can see in some of the early promo shots that it had trunk lid prop bars instead of springs as protos did.

if the car retained its plates and they were not shifted around to other cars, it must have then gone on to be the 914 R prototype or GT proto that was used for initial homologation? as in above posted photos.

i read somewhere, but now can't remember where, so going off memory but the 914/6 GT prototype was built up from one of 20 914/6 pre production prototypes built in 1968?
serial number 914.119? the last one 120 was a sporto prototype according to this website info here. 119 isn't listed as existing. piech's 8 and ferry p's 8 were two others from that batch.

so is this (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) prototype 914.119?

No, those plates were freely moved around to make a car temporarily road-worthy and didn't belong to any specific car.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/chowtime.gif)

0k (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[beltwerks]

I'm with Andy, i don't think the narrow bodied car and the GT car are the same. I think the plates were moved onto the first narrow bodied car that was used for the extensive advertising campaign using these two pretty ladies. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

That particular production 914/6 was the first inported into the USA and was found in a poor state, but with matching numbers engine with a mere 9000 kilometres on the clock.

Where is the the Hockenheim 6 GT car. ?

More pictures.

Dave

[beltwerks]

I'm with Andy, i don't think the narrow bodied car and the GT car are the same. I think rthe plates were moved onto the first narrow bodied car that was used for the extensive advertising campaign using these two pretty ladies. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

That particular production 914/6 was the first inported into the USA and was found in a poor state, but with matching numbers engine with a mere 9000 kilometres on the clock.

Where is the the Hockenheim 6 GT car.

More pictures.

Dave

[wonkipop]

i knew i had another image of the car in the first post here - taken at same time and place for launch of porsches 1970 racing season.
i located it in my files.



the image has a telling detail that gives away a little more information on that car.
jacking point in sill rocker panel.



these jacking points low down in the rocker panel are only found on the hand built 1968 prototype cars used for testing and assessment.
there were according to info i've read 48 914/4s and 20 914/6s built as prototypes.
they were delivered in three batches at three month intervals thru 1968.
from the few images i have found and filed of these protos there is a suggestion that changes were incorporated between the batches. for instance the earliest batch had cowl mounted fuel caps. later batches had the flip lids in the front trunk lid. whether all three batrches had the low jacking point is not clear. for instance the ferry porsche 914/8 had the high jacking point of production cars - that could have been because the protos by the time of a later batch incorporated that change or it could be as a result of the cars extensive body reworking by BAUR - fixed roof etc. but very definitely the lower position jacking points is something only found on the protos whether all of them or some of them.

there is more information on the distinguishing features of these prototypes in this thread regarding the 914/4 protos.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=375808

other cars that feature this jacking point location are piech's 914/8. the 914/6 prototype that was found in california. the protos were also used for early publicity photo shoots and feature in some of the early brochures and promotional material.


one thing you can say for sure about the car photographed in the first post is that it is not a production car. it is one of the hand built 1968 prototypes. likely modified after testing was finished so as to be an early form of the GT? but without the fully flared guards yet.

as a side note. in the photos often seen of the orange car in standard form in publicity shots with the SM 2383 plates you can also detect the same low jacking points in some shots. its definitely also one of the hand built protos. whatever the orange car imported into the states is - ie first production car off the line - its not the orange narrow body SM2383 in the publicity shots. that orange first production car in the states has the normal high set jacking poits of the production cars in recent photos of it.

[SirAndy]

...
these jacking points low down in the rocker panel are only found on the hand built 1968 prototype cars ...

@wonkipop
I don't have access to my files right now but i spot a few more details that support the notion that this is one of the pre-production prototype chassis.

Very interesting!
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

[beltwerks]

Wonkipop, thanks for the great info and the link. Here are a few more of the car i believe to be the Hockenheim car.

Dave

[attachmentid=968
394]

[wonkipop]

@beltwerks

great photos.dave (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

first sheet has some interesting numbers on it.
looks like a proto chassis number and a date.
if it is a chassis number its 914001 and dated april 68.
of interest is that there is an indication that chassis numbers seemed to be in at least two different series for the protos.

there is 914111 (piech 8) and 914114 (tangerine car)
914006 (ferry p 8) and this one 914001 (assuming that is chassis number).
i've never read anything out there definitive on proto chassis numbers but it seems to me they were not a straight progression of cumulative numbers? looks like they could have been batched sequences maybe? you would need a list of all the proto chassis numbers (document ) to know how that worked.

but yeah this hockenhem car is an early hand built proto. be interesting to know from which batch and stage of proto builds.


EDIT - ps that first sheet of 4 images is real interesting the more you look at it.
its in a wind tunnel!!!!

[wonkipop]

here is another one of those prototype cars.

supports @SirAndy 's and your view @beltwerks that the SM 2383 plates were mounted on various proto test cars.
(unless they were busy repainting the same car (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) which i doubt)

this one has the flip lid fuel filler on the front lid. low jacking point. ad what looks to me like the early door window rubber seal with a chrome metal outer trim part.
the window seal is similar to the tangerine 914-6 found in california quite a few years back.






this car was used for very early brochure and publicity shots.
i've seen other photos of it with rear trunk lid open.
it has a bent arm prop to hold the lid located on rhs.
also there are shots which show it with mahle gas burners - except they are not the real wheel but are in fact air brushed into the photos. the real wheels probably had still not been manufactured at the time the photos were taken, only designed?

i don't know what happened to this car. probably crushed.
it features in a shot with two cars together. beside a tangerine 6 left of it.
the tangerine car in that shot is also a proto and has the different indicator lenses identical to piech's 8.

[wonkipop]

...
these jacking points low down in the rocker panel are only found on the hand built 1968 prototype cars ...

@wonkipop
I don't have access to my files right now but i spot a few more details that support the notion that this is one of the pre-production prototype chassis.

Very interesting!
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

you know a lot more than me.
i just picked up these details when i was trying to work out photos of what was supposed to be 914/4 #1 off the line in the VW museum. when i started to notice some of this stuff. but i know pretty much narthing when it comes to the 6s. but i do have a lot of practice looking closely at documentary photos etc from my day job life. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)