The Grasshopper LE is a myth Options

[Gustl]

and here one of the extra-rare european 914 GT

[gregrobbins]

QUOTE (alpha434 @ Feb 28 2006, 03:21 PM)

Maybe it's like the Can Am 914s? Porsche said they offered it as a package. I have a magazine article that described the car, even. Nobody has one. Anywhere.

My COA for the bumble bee says that the car came with the "CAN-AM Limited Edition Package."

Side strip never said Can-Am except for two prototypes, #s 6 and 7 pictured on Jeff's LE site. They were likely made in '73 before Porsche pulled out of the Can-Am series.

[DNHunt]

I think they exist in a parallel universe were creamsicles are the phantom LE. We only get glimpses of them when Miles is able to get everything aligned right. I know it's a reach but, I just have to have someway I can believe. Somethings are better left unproven.

Dave

[redshift]

Yes, at least 2 cars, and likely 3, Atlanta. I have been driving these crap heaps forever, and paying more than a little attention.

Yes on the blue refin. Blue car had no Porsche logo.

I hate the combination, it's freaking ugly.

Repaints? I doubt that. Besides Scott, at least one other club member has also confirmed seeing at least a single car.



M

[DNHunt]

Miles

Could Atlanta be a hot spot kind of like crop circles or something? I really don't want to give up hope.

Dave

[seanery]

The cars do enter the country near there now, where were Porsche & VW vehicles imported in the early to mid 70's?

[redshift]

I think all our cars came through JAX.

Scripts were dealer add-ons, no?


M

[JeffBowlsby]

I guess I need to interject a couple of thoughts here for clarity:

The PAG letter in the first post is interesting.

Point 1: I gave them the range of known 914 LE car VINS and they confirmed that no cars within that range were white with green trim. Someone here implied that ALL the cars in that VIN range were ‘confirmed’ to be LE cars and that isn’t right. I know that’s what their letter says but that is a misstatement and misunderstanding.

Point 2: Just because the VIN range I gave them did not contain any GH cars, doesn’t mean they didn’t exist, maybe they were just outside that VIN range? Maaayyyyybbbeeee, but its not likely.

Point 3: So PAG is given a VIN range and they look in their records for over 2000 cars and confirm their paint codes….THEY HAVE SPECIFIC RECORDS ON EACH OF OUR CARS! So even though their records may be incomplete or even wrong…they do have records. They COULD tell us exactly how many were produced but they don’t want to. They could give us a complete VIN number list with each LE car too.

Point 4: They have admitted that their website info was wrong re: the white/green trim cars. So they are not careful when they assemble their information and continuing to profligate incorrect information is ….is….well at least they admitted their error and will take steps to correct it.

Point 5: The Porsche Marketing Letter, a few books, and other sources indicate the white/green combo, and while that seems fairly believable on the surface…its obvious they are just regurgitating information found elsewhere or otherwise given to them, without verification.

Point 6: No doubt several of the respected people here and elsewhere have truly ‘seen’ a GH car. Hey there is one in my driveway, even. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif) Not because any one person has seen it, but so many people from different parts of the USA. At best we can be assured that while there is no current proof they were built, there is also not definitive proof that they were not, but so far we have turned over all the rocks and asked a lot of questions and we are coming up dry.

For my own sanity and for the purposes of my 914 LE website, I need to simply state the known facts as they are. PAG says they were never built (at least within a certain VIN range). We have no specific vehicle, no COA, not a single part with original green paint, no official publication or any other proof, just hearsay and vague memories. The only ‘original’ green stripes we have were produced aftermarket by VOA. The fact that there were the correct front spoilers and green stripes available from the dealers means it would be simple for a dealer to install them and voila – instant GH. I am sure we will continue the hunt, but hope is fading.

[bondo]

I thought the paint codes on LEs only listed the "major" color.. wouldn't that make the paint code of a creamsicle the same as a grasshopper?

[JeffBowlsby]

By paint code, I meant the U1V9 and U2V9 designation, which is what the factory would record...they are unique to the Bumblebee and Creamsicle and presumably the GH would be a different unique code if it was built. They were looking at those codes and didn't find anything that indicated a white/green combination.

[gregrobbins]

QUOTE (bondo @ Mar 1 2006, 09:26 AM)

I thought the paint codes on LEs only listed the "major" color.. wouldn't that make the paint code of a creamsicle the same as a grasshopper?

Here is where the value of a Certificate of Authenticity helps.

To quote from mine:

Exterior Paint Color/Code: Black/Sunflower Yellow Trim with Black Top / U1V9

An all black car (special order) paint code is: L041

[jflash914]

Jeff,
I have owned my 1970 since 1973. In the mid 70's the local porsche dealer had a white and green LE in its show room. I considered buying it but never did. Someone in my area eventually bought the car and I would see it on the streets of my town on occasion. I live in upstate NY so there was at least one purchased in the northeast back in the mid 70's.
Jack

[davep]

We can ask Porsche again perhaps. Ask for all the paint codes used in 1974, and quantities of each car in that code. I'd hazzard a guess that since U1 is the black LE, and U2 is the ivory LE, then the GH LE would be U3 or at least Ux. If all they record is U1 and U2, then that pretty much lays it to rest. The paint code on the body is always the VW code. The UxVy code is a marketing code that you would only get on a COA. The Ux was the custom combo code, and only used for LE and GT so far as we know.

All that is needed to produce a GH is to do what Jeff did. Not a big deal for a dealer.

[SirAndy]

QUOTE (Gustl @ Feb 28 2006, 09:42 PM)

they were never called "CanAm", but GT

i didn't mean to imply they were called "can am" in europe.

but the original idea at porsche was to call them "can am" which was later "can ned" ...
for those of you that can read german, there's quite a bit of good reading (and pics) about this in the "Das Grosse VW Porsche Buch" ...

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif) Andy

[Bleyseng]

Guess I'll have to break out my copy and read it then...

after I switch out the dizzy.

[TJB/914]

Jeff

Thanks for keeping hope alive.

Tom