Posted details in the History section.

I stumbled across this searching for some hi-res 914 pics.

Enjoy!

Actually, there's quite a bit of very interesting history between GM and Porsche and the Corvette in particular.

I'm not surprised at all that they used a 914 for their study. After all, GM send their chief designer to Porsche for a year to get trained ...
Andy

You have to wonder how much further ahead many of these cars would have been with a mid engine line rather than the front. The Corvettes of today are very well balanced but it took a long time for them to get there.

You also have to wonder why they thought a rotary would be the better approach over the V8. All the success teener owners have had with V8's is a good indication it's a worth-while path. Just thinkin out loud.

True but they never got to see that back then. Most of the V8 guys didn't start doing the V8 thing until the Corvette thing was scrapped.

"Styled by GM but hand-built by Pininfarina in six months, XP 978GT was based on a shortened and widened Porsche 914/6 chassis."

Posted a couple weeks back on the sregistry:

Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment

Anybody see any 928 lines?

But man was it ugly. They call it Pantera look alike, are they crazy. The cabin looks like a Gremlin he he.

And yes, it's amazing all the money they spent putting a dang turbine in a chassis earlier hadn't taught them to stick with something they somehow knew a little about (their V8s although a century behind Porsche engines).

Back in the day, the rotary engine was thought to be the motor design of the future. It actually had (and still has) a lot going for it ...


Prof. Felix Wankel, the father of the rotary engine himself converted a 914 ...
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=19558




Andy

He did it to a 914/6?

In 1970, a 914-6 was nothing special ...
Andy

Gm's fiero was the mid engine attempt and the 88 threatened the corvette so imo it was dropped. Take a ls1, a fwd 6 spd and you have a more modern 914 v8 with factory air and the works. With the transverse mounting you get 20% more power to the wheels without the ring and pinion.