Whether purists call it a Porsche or a Porsche-Wagen, we dig the Porsche 914, a little sports runabout that brought the aesthetics of the two brands closer than they had ever been before.
The story goes that there was a loose verbal agreement between Porsche and VW toward the end of the sixties. Porsche wanted to produce a cheaper, more accessible car than the bottom-of-the-range 911T and replace the 912. VW, on the other hand, wanted to update and replace the Karmann Ghia.
The agreement supposedly broke down when the VW chairman died – and so with the replacement guv’nor not having family or emotional ties to the Porsche empire – the original plan went out the window. Porsche retained the rights, therefore, to call the car a full-bred Ferdinand’s child.
Whatever you want to call it, you can see at a glance it was a unique and original design. The six cylinder versions – which sold less well than the flat 4s – are sporty little beasts, and a bit of tweaking along with that targa top combines to make this an achingly pretty and even practical classic. That rear-mid transverse placement means that this low slung cutie could really hug the tarmac, too.
The 914/6 wasn’t quite as successful as the entry-level 924 that replaced it at the end of the seventies, but we reckon it was more of a creatively imagined car than the ‘saviour of Porsche’ ever was.
So it goes.
CLICK TO ENLARGE
" It was stumbling across this beautifully detailed cutaway this week (below) that inspired our current romance for Porsche's first born. Nay-sayers who claim that the original apple of Ferry's eye is a Beetle with delusions of grandeur may have a "
"Hold off on the anger, or excitement, as this 911 rethink comes from the pen of Pasadena design student and not from a Porsche employee. Turkish designer Ege Arguden does know his way around a German design department though, having done "
" images: Emory We've had a bit of a thing about Porsche 356 'Outlaws'these last few weeks. Some would say that the entire idea of rodding and modding a vintage Porsche 356, despite the undeniable badness of many a result, is some kind "
"Steve 'Baggsy' Biagioni is one of the few Brit hooligans to make a mark in the international world of drifting. The quintessential Essex A-Road denizen tells us in his own words how he made it a world inspired by the "
" Adam Brinkworth is one of London’s most well regarded three-dimensional designers. He is also a devotee of interesting cars and motorcycles. But those two statements don’t really do justice to the multi-layered character that is Brink 66. The Brinkworths "
"Queen B: Normalisation. Becky Evans is at the forefront of a new digitally inspired generation of women redefining what it means to love driving. The Influencers The Women's motorcycle exhibition Gallery Images: Mike Fordham It's a rare break "
