Frank, one of our PorschePerfect.com readers, sent me a picture of his 1973 Porsche 914 a while back. I emailed him asking for more pictures and a little info on the car. Here’s what he sent:

I have tons of pictures of it and I drive it constantly – just took it to Gainesville, normally 4.5 hrs each way (7 hrs round trip in the 914!). We are going on a road trip to AL this Sunday.

I love the car. I’m only the 3rd owner. 40,000 miles, 1973 car. It has been repainted. The engine is a 2.2 4 (a 2.2 6 is in the works) on dual barrel 44 Webers with an external air cooler that keeps the temps in check here in NW Florida. A full 911 suspension, shifter, Fuchs wheels, professionally rolled rear fenders. I added the Porsche script 3rd light lens.

Other little mods include cooled front rotors, sway bars, 4 point belts, Racemark wheel, wood shift knob, factory racing exhaust, factory racing seats all from 1975 etc. And at times it all gets going up to 120 mph and stays there. I have a dyno sheet spec’d out at 135 rwhp, pushing 2100 lbs, so it has it where it counts. I’m hoping to reduce engine noise and increase drivability with the new engine.

I love driving this car, its my 3rd 914 and I’m hoping to finish the 2.2 6 by the spring. The only way my automotive dreams could be more complete is if I had a bus transport vehicle (you can see his rendering below).

Thanks for sharing your car and it’s story, Frank!

Here’s a picture of the bus transport Frank mentioned:

This is the picture Frank original sent. The orange stripe is Photoshop’d in:

I can’t remember who sent me this video, but it’s a cool little Porsche video starring the late Paul Newman. One of the funniest parts is when they show Wilt Chamberlain trying to get inside a 914.

For today’s video, I thought we’d reach back in time a bit and remember the beloved Porsche 914. The video is a bit shaky, and a little corny at the end, but this guy can’t stop smiling. It’s a great little reminder of how cool the 914 was, especially in it’s day. Kind of made me want one.

from MotorTrend.com

I’ve heard rumblings (along with grumblings) about a possible comeback of the Porsche 914. And by comeback, I mean re-release. It kind of reminds me of the year we started seeing 280Z’s start to disappear. What I heard was that Nissan was buying them up to rebuild, then re-release. Kind of a cool concept although I don’t know how many actually were sold that way or if that’s even how it went down.

Volkswagen has been working on a sports car concept for a while now, and it could be an interesting project for Porsche to jump in on, if it hasn’t already. Given the joint work with VW on the Cayenne Hybrid, is it really that big of a stretch?

The original Porsche 914 was sold in the US from 1969 to 1976. Back then it was a joint effort between VW and Porsche. It was promptly named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year in 1970. The 914-4 alone turned out to be Porsche’s top seller during its model run, selling over 118,000 units worldwide. I’m sure price had a LOT to do with that.

Fast forward to today and we’re not in that much different of a situation. With the economy scaring people out of buying cars, much less Porsches, and that effect likely to be felt for a few years to come, it could be a great time for Porsche to capture a market a bit lower than the Cayenne is snatching up. They don’t currently have a 4-cylinder car on the market and could introduce such a model or drop in the 2.7-liter base engine from the Boxster.

Would be an interesting time for Porsche to add a lower priced model into it’s lineup. Not that it necessarily needs the cash, but it could certainly help bolster sales and possibly capture an audience that it wouldn’t otherwise reach. Another side benefit that is just a hunch without any data to prove at this point is the number of people that it brings into the Porsche “family” with a modern day 914. They buy an entry level Porsche, fall in love with the brand and end up buying a higher end model as their financial means increase.

Kind of like how Apple gets you in with an inexpensive MacBook. Before long, you’re dropping three large on a 17″ MacBook Pro, not thinking twice about it and certainly NOT thinking about going back to a PC.

[Sources: Automotive.com, Wikipedia.com]

Maybe you like Porsche 914s or maybe you looking for a “starter” Porsche for your teenager who’s 16th birthday is coming up. Whatever the motivation, have we got a 914 for you!

First of all, check out the title to this ad:

1970 Porsche Factory 914-6!!!!! – $29500

Of course anything with 5 exclamation marks capping it has GOT to be good/special/rare (don’t get me started on that topic) right!!!!! Uh, yeah…

My first thought was, “What the heck?!”. Paul’s instant message to me after seeing the ad was “What makes a 914 worth 30K?” Tapping into my vast knowledge of all things Porsche, my response was, “I dunno.” Turns out, this actually is something special. Here’s the rest of the ad:

1970 Porsche 914-6. Ivory white, black top and interior. This car is in great shape inside and out. Fresh rebuilt motor in the last 2500 miles and the motor is still under waranty. Original color was Irish green, but who ever did the repaint looks like they removed the motor, all glass, and weatherstrip, there is no green showing on this car. Runs and drives great, and would make a great addition to anyones collection.

According to Wikipedia, great knowledge keeper of the Internet, the 914-6 was a short lived model with only 3360 examples produced between 1970 and 1972. All of them featured the 2.0 liter flat-six engine.

And now we see why a car that was only $6,000 new is now worth 5x that amount. At least I guess. I still have a hard time thinking someone would spend thirty grand on just about 914 and especially one that isn’t original.

Course if you are really into 914-6s, there was a Porsche 914-6 factory racer that spent it’s life as a test vehicle in Stuttgart up for sale. The price? Just $325,000! You can see picks over at Jalopnik.com.