Porsche 914/6

PORSCHE 914/6 - a true classic racing car.

For the true Porsche lovers, the type 914 was not seen as a true car. When VW and Porsche decided to join forces to build a sportscar, they wanted a car that did not look like any existing model from both manufacturers. So it could not be a 911 or a Karmann-Ghia.
At the Frankfurt Auto Show in 1969 the car was presented to the public. The VW-Porsche 914/4, a mid-engined, Targa-top sports car was assembled by Karmann of Osnabruck. It used the 1,679cc, four-cylinder, 80 bhp air-cooled motor of the Volkswagen 411, four-wheel disc brakes and a five-speed gearbox.It was a commercial success.
The 914/6 was a true Porsche produced at the Zuffenhausen factory on the 911 production line. This car was powered by the Porsche 911T’s 2.0-litre six, 110 bhp and two Weber carburettors.

The 914’s reputation for excellent handling was somewhat marred by criticism that the four-cylinder version was too slow, though lack of speed was never a shortcoming of the 914/6. Porsche being Porsche there was, inevitably, a competition version of the 914/6 – the Group 4 914/6GT – a small batch of which was built in 1970. The GT’s engine was tuned for 220bhp at 7800 tr/min. The car weighted 880 kg thanks to the glassfibre panels and Plexiglas windows and showed flared arches accommodated wider wheels.

After a test sessions on the Targa Florio routes, the car made his official debut may 31th at the 1000 km Nürburgring 1970. Four cars were entered by private teams. They had to let the 911S from Loos-Pesch win their class, but they ended 2^nd (Huhn / Schwarz, Scuderia Lufthansa), 3th, 4^th and 5^th .

24 heures du Mans 1970

For the 24 heures du Mans, the French import company Sonauto entered the cars. The team, run by Michel Gauvin put their regular drivers Guy Chasseuil and Claude Ballot-Léna (2^nd in a 911S 1969) behind the wheel. To win here would mean beating two Chevrolet Corvette 7 litres, nine 911S (2191 or 2247 cm³) and two 911T and that without BoP. With 902 kg at the scrutineering, the 914/6 was the lightest GT. But in qualifying, they were 26”8 slower than the Corvette of Aubriet-Bourdon and 8”of the best 911S. With a P45 and 7^th GT on the grid, they were no favourite. But the weather acted in their favour. In the rain, the 914 with the smaller wheels ran like clockwork and they were first after 4 hours racing. When it stopped raining, the Greder-Rouget Chevrolet became untouchable, but then in the rain again, the German car got in front again. It became a David against Goliath fight until the last minute. The Chevrolet crossed the line first with 1 lap in front. But Casseuil/ Ballot- Léna got the overall win, because the Chevy had not run the minimal distance required for his cylinder-content. They were 6^th overall in front of the 911S driven by Kremer-Koob, last classified car of 7 cars at the finish.

Four days at the Nurburgring.

The Le Mans success encouraged the factory to enter cars for the Marathon de la Route in august, a race Porsche had already won in 1967 (with Hans Herrmann, Jochen Neerpasch and Vic Elford) and 1968 (Dieter Glemser, Herbert Linge and Willi Kausen) with the 911R. The Marathon carries on the tradition of what was once the toughest rally in Europe: Liège-Rome-Liège

The race now covered a period of 86 hours, a battle against fatigue, driver error, and technical defects, and was subject to strict regulations, such as the rule that limited pit stops to a maximum duration of 60 seconds. ‘Even if you were only a few seconds over, a lap would be taken off your total,’ explained Porsche development engineer Roland Kussmaul. Given that it took around 13 minutes to complete one 28.3-kilometre circuit of the North and South Loops (Fifty corners, bumps, barely secured crash barriers), this was a harsh penalty. Although refuelling and driver changeovers were subject to this time limit, tyre changes were not – leaving the door open for Porsche to respond with a tactical masterstroke. When it was time for a tyre change, the driver stopped the car in front of the entrance to the pit lane. He then loosened all but one of the wheel nuts, removed them and placed them in his overalls. With each of the tyres secured by only one nut, he subsequently drove up to his pit crew. Once the team had changed the tyres, the driver brought the car to the exit of the pit lane before securing the remaining nuts. Thanks to the use of hard tyres, only one change was needed during the entire race.

Only twenty-four of the original sixty-four cars make it to the finish. Porsche finished with flying colors, sweeping the podium after more than half a week of racing. Car number 1, driven by Claude Haldi, Gérard Larrousse, and Helmut Marko, took the win with a total distance of 10,127 kilometres, or 358 laps average 118 km/h. The two other 914/6 models were close behind. These were driven by Björn Waldegård, Aake Andersson and Guy Chasseuil, and by Claude Ballot-Léna, Günter Steckkönig and Nicolas Koob respectively. All nine drivers demonstrated not only the true Porsche speed but the 914/6’s spectacular reliability. The maintenance log underscores this dependability, listing the following necessary repairs: a single tire change for each car, two blown fuses, one replaced taillight bulb, and two busted window cranks.

After this, Porsche entered a 914/6 with Claude Haldi in the British RAC rally. He finished 12^th.

Podium in the Monte Carlo Rally

Despite the results, the 914/6 had not the same image as the 911. So Porsche tried a marketing trick and entered three 914/6 in the Monte Carlo Rally. It was n audacious move considering that the Alpine 1600 S was the absolute rally car. It did not go as planned, because two cars were out early in the rally. Gerard Larousse was out with clutch troubles and Åke Anderson with a broken differential. So Bjorn Waldegaard and Hans Thorszelius were left alone. After the common etappe, the Swede was 4^th with 1’06”after the best Alpine from Ove Andersson. He tried his maximum but stranded on a third place. The car performed best on the snow, but drivers preferred the 911.

A sportscar in 1971 and 1972

The 914/6 continued in the hand of clients in the International Sportscar championship in 1971. In the 24 hours of Daytona, the Sun Oil 914/6 in the hands of Canadians Jacques Duval and George Nicholas  together with Bob Bailey got a 7^th place overall; third in GTS. The car driven by Stephen Behr, John Buffum and Erwin Kremer ended 8^th. The Brumos Porsche 914/6 of Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood did not finish the race, but they ended 14^th (4^th in GTS) in the next race, the 12h Sebring. They continued to race the car in the first IMSA championship (car #95). They ended 6^th in the 6h Watkins Glenn (P02 in GTS) and were crowned  IMSA GTU (minus 2.5L) champions.

 
In Europe, Peter Ettmüller and Ernst Seiler  finished 13^th and second in the GTS Squadra Tartaruga Porsche 914/6 in the 1000 km Monza. A second place in GTS was also for Gerd Quist and Dietrich Krumm in the Max Moritz Porsche in the 1000 km Spa. Willy Kauhsen and Günter Steckkönig raced the 914/6 in the Targa Florio to a 13^th place. There was again a strong performance in the 1000 km Nurburgring (see photos) with an overall P14, P15 and P18 (#93, Automobilclub Rübenach) for the Porsches. P14 and 3th in GTS was for again for the Max Moritz team. The Squadra Tartaruga (#104) had mechanical problems.

 In the next race, the 24 h Le Mans, this 914/6 (#69) was out with gearbox issues when they occupied 3th in the GTS, while the Porsche Club Romand of Paul Keller and Jean Sage went out with engine troubles. Podium again in the 1000 km Zeltweg with Steckkönig- Schmid- Bauer 14^th overall and 3th in their class.

In the USA, Mexican Daniel Muniz drove the car to P13 in the 6h Daytona and to P09 in the 12 hours Sebring 1972. In Europe, Dieter Schmid and Armando Floridia raced in the Targa Florio and finished the race 9^th.
Porsche introduced the 911 with a 2.4 litres engine and later the Carrera RS; that put an end to the ambitions of the 914. The car was kept in production until 1974. In total some 119000 cars were produced with 3360 of them as a 6 cylinder. The 914/6 was racing in th IMSA. In 1976, John Hotchkis-Robert Kirby and Leonard Jones were 13^th (3th inGTU) in the Daytona 24h, but in 1980 Koll-Cook-La Cava were 5^th and winning the GTU!

The Porsche 914 remains a classic !