Do people really think the 914 is ugly? I never thought so.

I have seen far uglier cars...many of them. Even most cars today are not worth a second look.

I remember it coming out as a kid. So many had poor things to say about the 914. My older brother was Chalon crazy. (he liked the car on his own with no outside influences)
Sadly, I listened to friends and the press...and was too young to form my own opinion.

What had people not liking the car?

what's not to like:
the pop up headlights...about as cool as it can get
the trick removable roof.
the two storage spaces
the engine in the middle? who does that, its amazing.
the simple, never out of style interior.
the lightest seats in the world.
the Italian style door handles. flush and wonderful.

I think of it as another little 904.
a good red one looks like a Ferrari to me.
a friend of mine had a gold, low mileage second gen , angled shaped, Dino (from around 1976). yes, it was neat, but I like the 914 better.

I cannot get enough of the car. I'm more fascinated with it more today than any earlier decade.
I mean the car was incredible at Le Mans.

I knew a guy who said he had over 20 of the cars...and could look at them all day.
what an amazing car that was 50 years ahead of its time.
I can't think of a single high production car, in all history that was more unique, and stayed unique for decades.

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spending time with an airplane, and what color is this??

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4x4 in the mountains of Europe

Thanks Scott. That was a well written tribute. There are always those who will dismiss the 914. That is their opinion and I don't really care. What is important to remember is that there are admirers and detractors for just about every make and model of car. Or airplane. Or boat. Whatever.

I think that Muhammad Ali said it best (although I an entirely different context ) "Different strokes for different folks").

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I think it was mainly when it first came out. American cars from the 60’s had a rear with pointy things that resembled rockets or jet engines, because of the space race with Russia. There were comments that you can’t tell if a 914 was coming or going because the rear was smooth and the front had the pointy projectiles. It also looks like a picnic basket with a black handle. The 914 design is form follows function, so nerds like myself is attracted to it.

I wish more people thought they were ugly. I’d rather they be undesirable and low priced. I still want to buy a couple more.

You are asking a very biased audience of course, but for me, it was love at first sight. As a kid, my interest in cars was pretty much limited to Hot Wheels and Aurora HO scale slot cars. Of course there were Ford GTs and 917s in the collection but I didn't pay that much attention to what was a Ford, Porsche, or whatever. As for actual cars, corvettes and the Batmobile were cool. Not much else grabbed my attention. Not even the corvairs that my uncle had and I would now love to own. Then one day my mom was driving me to the Schwinn bicycle shop and I spotted the first 914 I can remember seeing. Adriatic blue I believe. I thought it was the coolest car I had ever seen. So different from anything else and somehow made perfect sense on an instinctual level. Luckily, the car had negative side stripes so I knew it was a Porsche. That was the spark and I knew that when I had money to buy my first car, it would be a 914.

Funny that I only started paying attention to 911s after my intro to the 914. I didn't like them at first. They looked too much like a beetle, and beetles were just a cheap car for getting around town while looking awkward at best and making funky engine noises. Of course my taste for beetles and 911s have changed since then. Or maybe I just had no taste back then since I preferred the ugly 914 over the timeless classic shape of a 911. A lot of kids my age thought the same way and that might have something to do with it. A lot of us on the forum are "kids my age" and maybe there is something about being introduced to a car way ahead of its time at an age when we were receptive to such things.

I'm with OP on most modern cars. I think we are in a dark age of car styling. I'm so sick of the "angry birds" styling of modern cars. Not a fan of the pastel clay colors for paint either. Trendy rather than timeless. Then the ID.Buzz appears and I have hope. Nice to see a car smiling again.

914 styling is timeless; has never gone out of style despite many cultural and design evolutions. Smooth and simple; nothing needed.

I’m not going to say a 914 is ugly but I definitely think the Dino is a far more elegant design. The 914 is how shall I say . . . Germanic. Form follows function. Quirky, unique. I like it for those reasons but I value a 914 for it’s steering and handling far more than I care about styling.

There are two kinds of people in the world.

Those who think the 914 is beautiful,
And those who are wrong.

AZbanks nailed it!

I’ve never thought of the 914 as ugly,,,,,,,except for the USA version front side marker lights. Whoever was responsible for those should have been beaten with a rubber hose.

That would be the USDOT that was mandating safety measures. They were right about seat belts…except most people refused to use them.

I tend to think they were right about side markers too, especially given how the average size of passenger vehicles has escalated. But there are right ways and wrong ways to do them. What Porsche did to the 914 was the wrong way.

Just to play devil's (critic's) advocate, a few design features that might challenge the unsophisticated:

Narrow front fender "wings"
A car with two "rear ends"
Targa bar, including the side panel curve
A bit slab-sided
Not a "fastback"

Safety regulations are also the reason the nose of the US cars were delivered so much higher than the rear. Bumper height requirements I think.

I was informed the elevated nose was actually done to raise headlight height to satisfy a USA requirement.

Compared to other sports cars in the late 60s and early 70s, the 914 is certainly an odd duck. I can't call it a beautiful car, even though its one of my favorites.

If you think of all the classic sports cars of the era, they are swoopy. They have curves. The 914 is blocky. It was very un-Porsche. And I don't think that played well for the Porsche geeks of the time that were used to curvy and sleek 356s and 911s. And Porsche learned that lesson making the 924, 944, and 928, Boxster, etc. sleek and curvy. It isn't until the modern Porsche SUVs that you are seeing blocky designs again.

VW picked up on the blocky design theme with the Scirocco in the 80s and then Corrado in the 90s, and of course all the period GTIs. But even the VW cars that existed at the time of the 914 were more curvy. And VW of the 80s and 90s was going after a niche market while desperately trying to keep their doors open in the US market (where they were saved by another curvy car - the "New" Beetle.)

The 914 isn't beautiful. It is quirky. It stands out. And I like that.

Zach

I thought they were ugly until I saw one in person. The first one I actually saw I was fascinated with. Before I thought they were boxy and plain.

I think a lot of the subtle curves get lost in pictures and you need to see it in person to appreciate it.

I also think wheels matter a lot on this car. The right wheels really make it jump out at you.

For looks, it's interesting, very unique, and truly a great all around car. But once you drive it, your hooked. I'm reminded of this every time it's been awhile and I jump in my car.

i'd go further.
its out. as in outside. its time.
its never been in a time?
(maybe thats what timeless is? but its a very misused term these days).

it isn't even late 60s or early 70s from a high design point of view.

its definitely original.

and it is not classicism.
like a 911 is.
which is the usual cliche of timeless.

all it is in the end is a car that doesn't fit in.
easy prey for insults from the fitters in.

thats why i like it.

914s are definitely beautiful, that is until some owners start fiddling with the design. Flared fenders come to mind...ugh.

Ansbacher

The 914 represents a glimpse into the future, gone is the styling of the Ferrari GTO (although in my opinion the ‘64 disco is the most beautiful car ever).
With the 914 there aren’t any straight lines but it gets straight to the point, and that point is what is to come.
A 914/6GT in race trim points to the Lancia Stratos which leads to the Audi Quattro.
The future is tough to see at the beginning, that’s why hindsight is 20-20.

Beauty is a subjective aesthetic assumption, I'm more in the "love 914 camp" that form follows function. There were many innovations in the 914 series that were way ahead of their time, and what has become a wonderful platform to restore and modify to our personal use and appreciation, as a delightful and valued little road, curve and track warrior!

I was one who thought the 914 ugly, both when my older brother got one and then when I got "stuck" with it a few years later after he left for college. Was a cheap, old sports car and the butt of many jokes back then…and so I dreamed of updating/upgrading it and/or making it look less like a 914. Or anything but a 914.

More than 30 years later, I'm glad I didn't have the resources to modify the car's bodywork. I love the M471 and competition cars, but have grown to love the basic 914 design, too…and the purer & more reduced, the better. And with each year that passes, it gets better and better looking to me.

While I've always loved the 914, if anything bugged me about the design it was always the 'sail pillars'. They've always looked like the designer didn't quite know what to do with them and just kinda whacked the roof off and said "Enh, good enough." Then someone called it plain and they said "Just throw some vinyl on there, the Americans will think its a convertible!"

Back in the 80s I was fascinated with the Rayco kits, and also the Chalon, mainly because I liked what they did with the pillar. (Like the guy above me, I'm glad I didn't have the cash to go that route) These days I'm more accepting of it, but it's still the primary reason I far prefer the 914 in dark colors. Mine has always been black, so that worked out.

Years ago I was in the 911 shape was beauty, these days I am neutral for 911 vs 914, but I own 4 914's, a 911S and a 930

BTW, I am somewhat an authority on the definition of ugly: the year was 1987 and the Ford dealers in upstate NY held an "Ugly Truck Contest". I won the contest with a 1967 Dodge Power Wagon, Ford gave me the keys to a brand new 1987 Ford Ranger.

Beauty/ugly is in the eyes of the beholder

My Uncle bought one new in 1970, I was 13. I thought it was the most beautiful car I’d ever seen. Of course a baby duck will imprint on a mailbox if it is the first thing it see’s. 12 years later I had one of my own. Then I saw a GT, and that became my favorite 914.

For me it was just "A head of the times."

In his Garage series, Jay Leno said "I wouldn't call it a pretty car, more like a handsome car".

I saw my first 914 in 1981.

Sixteen years old, I had my newly minted driver's licence and went for my first solo drive in my parent's Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser wagon. Headed north on two-lane hwy 12 and came up on a used classic car dealer operating out of an old barn. On the front grass sat two 914s, a green and yellow. Immediately it was a what the heck are those moment! I stopped, got out and walked around them peering through the glass to see the inside.

That first impression never left me... At some point I bought a 914 that I could afford (it was the matchbox die cast version).

40 years later, I now have two real 914s. The love affair continues.

Its a 914. Some people don't care for Carmen Electra either.

When I first saw a picture of one, I thought, what were they thinking! But the 914 looks good in the flesh, something I'm glad of because the first one I saw was my own just after it landed at the Fremantle dock.
Regarding the styling, Porshe could have done something like a late sixties' version of the 904 and a bit more practical but that wouldn't have been good for the 911. It's better looking than the Lotus Europa and will probably be more timeless than an X1/9.

Well whatever it was, mine looked like a gasser when I bought it. So much better when you level it out.

I disagree.. While I do like a narrow bodied 914, I much prefer a factory flared 914.

To each his own.

I loved the look as a kid...flatter seemed faster in my mind. Although I also liked the Riviera wheels so my taste was uniquely tied to the era that make people cringe now

I always thought the 911 looked like a frog...930 with the tray/whale tail though changed my mind about 911s.

I recently bought a Tesla, which is changing my mind about crawling under cars.

I agree with Zach and mikey


I prefer swoopy (like my first car, the opel gt) but the unique design of an unmodified 914 is great. Maybe not beautiful, but definitely great.

Took this photo this morning. Nothing like a little rain to make my paint look good.

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Here is my old opel.

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Sold the opel back in the early 00s after 12 years of awesomeness.

maybe.
but 914/6s were set up level by the factory in stuttgart.
very evident in early publicity shots.

publicity shots of 914/4s of same era (early) definitely show nose up for 4s.

explanation that makes most sense to me is demands by conservative VW approving engineers for built in under-steer on their version. VW did it with all their cars to ensure that when the front trunk was loaded the car came down level and not nose down to try and maintain understeer characteristic through all typical luggage loadings. VW were very nervous about any over-steer characteristics in cars they sold.
check photos of new VWs from that era. all sat nose up unloaded. bugs, type 3s and particularly superbeetles and 412s.

edit
back to topic.
reading comments perhaps the word everyone is looking for is "offbeat".
or maybe even "alien" (in the true meaning of the word).
but its not ugly. at the beginning it would have been definitely unfamiliar.

a bit like the lunar module.

i only really wanted to do two other things when i went to live in the USA to get my education finished.
1. buy a 914.
2. see only remaining mission ready lunar module left.
managed to do both.
i would not call either of them beautiful. nor ugly.
neither word has any thing to do with either of them.

There's more original equipment on my 914!

I always thought the front end of the Karmann prototype looked well done but we couldn't have this version looking nicer than a 911,could we ?
just my 0.02c worth . . .

cheers
Dennis

Big brother ?
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Big brother ?
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@emerygt350

you must have one of the best chalons left in existence mate.
it looks really cool in that photo. 80s. its so much a mullet its beyond good and bad.

pleased to see you once owned an opel gt. very suave.

This is what’s funny about the subjectivity of styling.

One man’s improvement is another’s degradation. There is no way I’d own a 914 if they had gone with that prototype design.

Often times a great design evokes a Love/Hate polarizing response. As long as the “love” demographic is sufficiently motivated to buy - it can be a successful business case.


Example: PT Cruiser design - evokes a very strong love / hate response. The program was only supposed to be about 40k units annually and it was only supposed to be a 4 year program with a predictable loss of demand toward the end of the 4 years. Program planning and marketing didn’t know what to think about such a quirky design. Was it a car, a truck (it was for CAFE purposes), or a small van sort of thing? By the time it launched, demand was at 200k units, a second assembly line was contracted out of Europe. Ultimately it was in production for 10 years and it was a cash cow for Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler, and then Cerberus / Chrysler LLC. Love it or hate it, there were more than enough lovers to make it a wildly successful program.

The 914 was like that - love it or hate it, it outsold 911’s.

the 914 in 1964
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unreal 914 model
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i'm with you on the headlight visible so called prototype @Superhawk996
awful.

i'm calling that its a karmann prototype.
i'll lay $ down now, much as you want, its just an air brush touch up visualisation.
(these days they CAD model and render).
probably done by h klie circa 1972/73 to investigate whether the 914 would be a dog if they dropped the pop up expensive headlights. after viewing the airbrush no doubt the VW executives and porsche representives agreed to look elsewhere for value management savings. which might have been the negative intentional purpose of said airbrush?

good thing they never did it or i would never have bothered to go to so much trouble to have a 914.

You are probably right on the cost saving investigation.

It’s funny to me that a design starts with pop-ups but as soon as they can, OEMs start looking for the cost savings of fixed lamps.

I had a 1st gen Miata that had pop ups. 2nd gen came out with fixed lamps. I didn’t like the styling at all. Those fixed lamps plus the usual weight gain removed it from my consideration list.

For some reason I’m drawn to pop up headlamps. I always thought the 928 was a neat way to do them but I really prefer them to be completely hidden like the 914.

@wonkipop

I have loved the 914 since I saw my first one in 1970. I have owned 4 - all stock bodied. I would like a flared version with a nice 6 in it but alas, it is not to be. If I were to sell my 6 it would be for a Dino- just love them.

I once stood at the test track and asked four PAG old-timers if they thought Porsche should do another entry-level sports car, something under the Boxster/Cayman, which by then had become very refined thanks to the progression of 997s and (I think?) 991s.

They looked at me like I was an idiot, smiled, and answered with a resounding "NO." Then laughed. Silly boy.

So I asked, "Why not?"

Their answer was simple: "Bad for the brand."

Which is funny, as the 912, 914, 924, 944, and 986 were all hugely beneficial for the brand…arguably saving it. There are also a lot of us who started with a 914, whether new or well used, and went on to buy used Porsches that need parts and service as well as new Porsches—911s included. In my case, a used 914 made me fall in love with the Porsche way of driving. Trying to remember if that interaction at Weissach was about the time the Macan, a rebadged Audi Q5 and the first Porsche on a chassis not engineered from scratch by Porsche, was either under development or already out—which would eventually be offered with, wait for it, a VW/Audi inline four.

I believe it was actually headlight height regulations that caused that in the US

my 1983 SC had the 3/4 of an inch solid spacer on the top of the strut (body lift) for the same reason.

Building SUVs and 4 door sedans is good for the Brand? I have no doubt it has been profitable. But good for the brand? I don’t think so.

Porsche ceased to exist for me when they put out the Cayenne. Glad the gents from PAG have a good grasp on what the brand is (vs. what it was).

Well said Scott...I'm a lifer


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