I own a '68 Karmann Ghia, also. I have always heard it refered to as a "poor man's Porsche". But last month while in a parking lot I was "informed" by a fellow shopper that my 914 was the "poor man's Porsche". You know the type. He knew more about my car than anyone else. Frigging Chismoso!(that's texmex) But then I began thinking, "What if he was right and I had been misinformed?" After all; I am pretty damned good at being misinformed.

The 914 is commonly referred to as the poor mans Porsche..

Technically, and literally, this is no longer true...

Actually, the 356 Speedster was the poor man's Porsche, at something like 25% less than the coupe or cabriolet.

The Cap'n

I’ve been hearing since the late ‘60s that the Karmann Ghia was the poor man’s 356. I wouldn’t be too surprised to hear that evolve into the poor man’s Porsche.
As far as the 914, all I ever heard was love it or hate it.

....Maybe after 1 gets done doing it up the way they like...
(Porsche prices)

When I bought a new one in '73 it was thought of as a Poor Man's Porsch.....couldn't even afford the 'e'.

Of course, I felt rich after I found out how much fun it was to drive. Back then there were lots more unobstructed twisties to run in SoCal. Who remembers when Laguna Canyon was a two lane road all the way from the freeway to the town?

Why not? You can go pickup a 914 in great condition for 5k. Old 911s are still going for 5 digits.

I believe a Ghia in good shape is more expensive than a 914 in the same condition, go figure. Anyway, my good friend who works on my 914 has a nice Ghia now, and we can't wait til nice weather comes again so we can go for a cruise in our "poor man's cars". I have also heard Corvairs referred to as "a poor man's Porsche" seems to me the people who said that kinda stuff never had a nice car and probably still don't! I must say the Acadia region PCA people have been very friendly to me and I have not experienced any snob types looking down at me or my teener.

Ian Stott
Moncton
Canada

Climb in the Wayback Machine and visit 1973. Your experience will be much different .

I noticed a change in other porsche owners about our 914. It's the non-porsche owner that likes to give me crap about our cars.

I had a Shelby Mustang owner give me crap about my "it's really a VW" car. Which if you think about it, all porsches are VW's. The good Doctor did design the VW bug!
When I told him his Real Shelby Mustang is really just a Ford Falcon he literally hit the roof! I laughed so hard to see his reaction! When he found out it was true he wouldn't speak to me unless he had to since he is one of the directors in the Engineering department and my boss.

Same thread going on ClassicZ.Com talking about the Z being the Poor Mans Porsche...

I damned near know as much now as I did a while ago. Although the Cap'ts spin predates others and seams logical. The phrase has then obviously taken on a life of it's own. Going from vehicle to vehicle. No doubt the Boxster is next.

I vaguely remember really favorable reviews of the Nissan NX 2000 comparing it to a small/cheap Porsche.

Given the age of these cars ( the speedster, 914 or Karman Ghia), would the poor individual who owns one please step forward? These comments have been around for a long time and probably will continue. Anyone who makes it is usually in the dark and has even less knowledge...

Sorry...bad on me...I couldn't help it.

I think its pretty amazing what things people are doing with these cars...Ferry is somewhere doing the beer barrel polka!

I prefer "low initial buy-in money pit with a negative return on investment".

You can be poor and still get in "the club", or you can be poor after all of the repairs/restoration work! Either way, technically it is a poor mans "Porsh"!

I do! ................. many a time in my 914 when she was still up-n-runnin'! I just lived up PCH in HB then.

Santiago Canyon Rd. & that back hills area are about all we have of the ilk today.

924.

I think the boxster is the new poor mans porsche.
Cant even build a decent 914 for what you can buy a used boxster for nowadays.

Rich

have you tried buying parts for one lately....no longer a cheap car.
My son has a 924S we bought from MScala (Its still alive Mark)
Not cheap anymore...and the belts....oh the belts...

I have to say that the ass who designed a 30k timing belt design should have been shot. All modern cars can go 75k minimum...
Rich

Next time ask Mr. Chismoso to purchase some 914 parts!

Funny how the poor mans Porsche is still alive and kicking after 40 years and a whole bunch of equal or more expensive sports cars of the time have no following , or are not even around anymore. The 914 is like Legos for adults,You gotta love these cars. Just have fun. Badm.

100% spot on.

Time to set the record straight!

The 914 can not be the poor mans Porsche... It's a Volks Wagen

So the 914 would be the rich mans Ghia and the Ghia the poor mans 914

I can't tell you how many "experts" have told me my car is really a VW.

I love experts

ask mark 914rubber to make u some 75k belts

The crap coming out of England & Italy at the time was a poor man's Porsche. The Fiats, Jensens, MGs, & Triumphs - they were all crap. The 914 was so much better built & nothing about it felt poor.

Ignore the fools. At cruise-ins here in Dayton I have heard everything from "its a kit car" to "wow, a ferrari" and everything in between.

freedom of speech doesn't exclude dumb asses.

One of the reasons Porsche stopped making them is they cost to much.

I'd agree that a ghia is a Poor Man's Porsche in a much as it is a tail-dragger, better aerodynamics than a beetle, but same drivetrain and suspension.

Other than design of the cylinder head, how is a ghia any different than a 356?

I loved my Beetle, especially after I put a carefully balanced dual port/dual Kadron 1641cc engine in it. It screamed all the way up to 6500RPM, went sideways on wet streets with reckless abandon.. and I spent all of $500 on parts for the rebuild (german parts none the less since it was the early 80's).

When I pushed it too hard and hit stuff.. who cares... I only spent $500 for the car!
Best learning tool on how to steer with the throttle, and heel and toe power/braking ever!

I still haven't driven a 911, but man am I trained and ready.

Its funny to see how all the REAL porsche supercars are worth LESS than our humble 914 /4s. Like a 944 Turbo, or a 928 S4.

From the price of parts standpoint, the Karmann Ghia is the RICH man's 914!

LOL, one of the things that pisses off some of the local PCA boxster leasers is the fact that I have more money in my 914-6GT clone than it would cost to buy a new Porsche , Of course, it would have been cheaper to buy some one elses finished project or a new Porsche, but as others here know, that wouldn't be the same as building your dream car

Gias pull some serious cake, but the early 924s (not 87-87 924S) are still the Poor mans poorsch, but 97-99 Boxsters & 99 Carreras are closing in fast as their values continue to drop, while our lowly Teeners keep climbing, but still behind Karman Gias

That sounds about right.

By the time they reach the 76 production year they were projected to cost more than the 911 to build.

Yep! 2.5 liter Boxster has stolen 914 title by a long shot. 914 isnt a poor mans car anymore. At least not if you drive it.