A Late Model Porsche 914 (Photo by Mathias Rufer)

The Porsche 914 was an automobile built collaboratively by Volkswagen and Porsche from 1969 through 1976. VW/Porsche originally intended it to be sold in four cylinder trim as a Volkswagen, to be the top-spec VW sports car, and in six cylinder trim as a Porsche, to be Porsche's entry level car, replacing the 912. However, Porsche decided during development that having VW and Porsche models sharing the same body would be risky for business in the U.S. market, and convinced VW to allow them to sell both versions as Porsches in North America. Volkswagen versions originally came with a fuel-injected 1.7 litre flat-4 engine based on the unit that powered the 411 and 412 saloon cars, although 1.8 and 2.0 litre engines became avaliable as time went on. Porsche's 914/6 variant came with a carburetted 2.0 litre flat six cylinder engine, taken from the 911T. VW manufactured the rolling chassis at their own plant, then either sent them to Porsche for fitment of the Porsche suspension and flat-six engine or kept them in house for their own hardware. Karmann manufactured the bodies, including the targa-top system. Porsche handled export to the U.S., where both versions were badged and sold as Porsches. Many enthusiasts regard this as having been a big mistake on Porsche's part. 914 production ended in 1976, two years prior to the introduction of its eventual replacement, the 924. Porsche reused the 912, in an updated form called 912E, to fill the gap. A small variety of cars, the most popular kind of automobile. ... Volkswagen (VW) is an automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Germany. ... The Porsche 912, a Porsche of the 1960s Porsche (), is a German manufacturer of sports cars, founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, the engineer who created the first Volkswagen. ... Porsche 912 The Porsche 912 is a sports car automobile made by Porsche GmbH of Germany. ... Fuel injection is a technology used in internal combustion engines to mix the fuel with air prior to combustion. ... A flat-4 is a four cylinder internal combustion engine where the cylinders are arranged in a flat configuration. ... An engine is something that produces some effect from a given input. ... A Porsche 924 Turbo (left) and 924S (right) Porsche 924 The Porsche 924 was an automobile produced by Porsche AG of Germany from 1976 to 1988. ...

The 914 was Motor Trend's Import Car of the Year for 1970. Motor Trend is one of the oldest automotive magazines still publishing. ... Car of the Year is a phrase usually considered to have been invented by Motor Trend magazine in the 1950s for their annual award for best automobile. ...

A supercar version known as the Porsche 916 was planned for production in the mid-70's, but was cancelled after the production of approximately 16 prototypes. These can be easily recognized by their flared fenders and more aggressive front ends when compared to the 914.

Two "special edition" 914s, dubbed 914/8, were built during 1969. The first, a silver unit, was built to comemorate "Ferry" Porsche's 60th birthday, and was powered by a carburated and de-tuned 908 race motor making 260 hp (194 kW). The second, a red unit powered by the full-blown, 400 horsepower (298 kW) 908 motor was presented to Ferdinand Piech, Ferry's son-in-law and then chairman of the Volkswagen group. The 914/8 bodywork differed from that of the standard 914 in only a few small but noticeable ways. Wheel arches were flared out, larger wheels were fit, and a cooling aperture for the oil cooler was affixed to the front bumper.

The chassis remained largely unchanged, although retuned shocks and custom coil springs cut from titanium were added to the package along with the upgraded bodywork, larger wheels and tires and uprated brakes. The 914/8 was not considered for production as a regular model.