Porsche 914-6 GT

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Porsche 914
Porsche 914-6 GT
Manufacturer: Porsche
Class: Sports car
Drivetrain: Mid engined
Production: 19701972
Predecessor: Porsche 912
Successor: Porsche 924
Body Styles: Targa
Coupe
Engines: 2.0 L flat-6

The Porsche 914-6 GT was a race car built and sold collaboratively by Volkswagen and Porsche.

[edit] History

The Porsche 914 was introduced in September 1969 as a collaborative effort between Porsche and Volkswagen to produce a sporty car. The car they came up with was a mid-engined vehicle with seating for two and featured a targa top. A 4-cylinder boxer engine provided the power. Volkswagen need a vehicle to replace the aging Karmann-Ghia while Porsche was looking for another option to add to their line up. The VW bodied vehicles were known as 914/4S while the Porsche variants were known as 914/6s. However, all 914S's sold in North America were considered Porsches.

The car sits very low and the suspension is stiff making it a great competition car rather than a touring car. The headlights hide in the hood and pop-up when needed. The targa top can be stored in the trunk.

The horizontally opposed flat-four engine is mid-mounted and came in three differnent sizes, 1.7, 1.8 or 2 liter. The 1.7 liter engine produced 80 horsepower, the 1.8 produced 79, and the 2.0 liter engine produced 95. A five-speed manual gearbox was standard equipment on all models.

The 914/6 was short lived with only 3360 examples produced between 1970 and 1972. All featured the 2.0 liter flat-six engine. It was raced using different engine configurations. This included the 'T' specification, which was basically a stock 911 engine. Another popular configuration was to use a converted Carrera 6 engine.

In 1970 Porsche entered a 914/6 GT in the grueling 24-hours of Le Mans race. It finished 6th overall and won its class. A remarkable accomplishment. This was only one chapter in the vehicles extensive racing career which continues even to this day.



 v  d  e Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG

Recent/Current/Future:
911 (997) | Boxster | Carrera GT | Cayenne | Cayman | Panamera | RS Spyder

Historic:
1940s1950s: 356 | 550 Spyder | 718 RS / F2 / F1
1960s1970s: 356 | 804 F1 | 904 | 906 | 907 | 908 | 909 | 910 | 911(930) | 912 | 914 | 917 | 924 | 928 | 934 | 935 | 936
1980s1990s: 911(930/964/993/996) | 944 | 953 | 956 | 959 | 961 | 962 | 968 | 989 | Boxster