Model Collector – August 2019

48 http://www.modelcollector.com | august 2019

| 914 and more

to Ferry Porsche on his 60th

birthday, coincidently also

in September 1969. An even

wilder development was that

of dropping an eight cylinder

908 racing engine into a much

modified 914 body known

as a 918 or 914 S.

Not all 914s, though, went

to young, or young at heart,

sports car enthusiasts. As a

successor to service weary

Porsche 356 cabriolets, the

914’s Targa configuration also

found favour across Europe

with many police forces – most

the 914’s successor came in

the form of a model that had

been developed for, but which

was later rejected by Audi,

becoming instead the first

water-cooled Porsche

production model – the 924.

That, however, didn’t

happen until after further

exploration on the 914 theme

had been undertaken by

Porsche, who producing a

limited series of fixed roof

coupe, dubbed the 916,

versions. A metallic silver

3.0-litre 916 was presented

of 914 production also saw

plaid cloth facings to the seats

colour coordinated to the

exterior paint. The first

generation V W Scirocco’s were

by then also passing along

Karmann’s production lines

and using the very same

paint colours and similar

plaid trim themes. The

introduction of that ‘new

generation’ water cooled V W

sports coupé sounded the

death knell for not only the

Karmann Ghia but the 914 as

well in the V W model range.

As for the Porsche catalogue,

identical to the V W ones but
differed in having a unique
ET40 offset, 4- and 5-bolt alloys
by Mahle (usually affectionate-
ly described as the ‘gas-burner’
style), and finally two more
4-bolt style alloys – the ‘Baby
Fuchs’ and a Pedrini version
similar to that of the Mahle.
Paint colours offered on
the 914 included some of the
brightest, quintessentially
70s, shades used on European
production Volkswagens.
Indeed, many of them were
unique to cars manufactured
at Karmann. The closing years

Authentically detailed Minichamps 914/6 (GT)s

and representative 916 in black.

Schuco’s 914 in L13M Saturngelb with Mahle alloys (left) and Minichamps’ L65K

Ravennagrün with Lemmerz steels.

Minichamps’ 1970/71 914GT, in both cases driven by Björn Waldegaard.