Pick of the Day: 1972 Porsche 914

For decades many Porsche fans considered the Porsche 914 a bit of a red-headed stepchild, with many going so far as to state that the 914 was not a “real” Porsche due to its heritage as a joint project with Volkswagen. I have found this idea stupid ever since I was in the 7th grade and first fell in love with Porsche cars. Even then I knew that Porsche has shared parts and such with VW ever since the beginning of the brand. Porsche’s first road car, the 356, has always shared a lot of DNA with Volkswagen as did cars like the 912. The idea of a “real” Porsche just sounds stupid and snobbish. My thought was that was if the company, who have always closely guarded their brand image, put their name on the car then the 914 was a real Porsche. If Ferry Porsche said the 914 was a Porsche, who was I to argue?

Happily in the last 20 or so years people have opened their minds a little and now many people consider any car wearing the Porsche name as a true Porsche car. There are a few holdouts, but these days they are more likely to get shut down if they make stupid comments about what a “real” Porsche is and isn’t.

I have owned three different Porsche 914 cars, and I have to say that they have been some of the most fun Porsche road cars I have owned. To me the 914 is essentially a modern day Porsche Speedster, offering the open air fun of a sports car that you can drive at the limit without the risk of jail (if pulled over). They are the very essence of an analog sports car. They handle great, are immensely fun to drive, and comfortable enough to fit just about any driver regardless of their height. They are also, as an added benefit, much less expensive to own than, say, an air cooled 911 and are still considered by most a classic air cooled Porsche.

The Pick of the Day is one of these great cars, a 1972 Porsche 914 for sale on ClassicCars.com located in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The car is painted in its original color of Saturn Yellow and according to the seller, has received a high quality repaint in that correct color. Overall I saw few issues with the body in the photos, and this looks like a straight car with a nice repaint. I love that the original stickers are all still on the body and in the correct places.

The interior has the correct black basketweave vinyl with the correct Perlon grey carpet. There seem to have not been any changes to this car from the way it was delivered such as incorrect extra gauges or a different steering wheel. There is an aftermarket stereo system, which I myself would immediately swap out for a Porsche Classic Radio head unit to make it perfect.

The underside of this car also looks to be in excellent condition with no issues with the floors whatsoever, something very important to know when buying a 914. There is evidence of service with what looks to be replaced or rebuilt transaxle half shafts. The only change from this car’s original specifications I could find, which the seller notes in the ad as well, is the swap to the much improved later model 914 Side Shift gearbox, which greatly improves the shift linkage and is a much better transaxle from the early model.

This looks to be a very honest and solid driver level 914 with some modification done to make it a better driving car but that do not take away from its vintage look and feel. The seller describes it as a car with 91,883 actual miles that has undergone one professional repaint in the correct color as documented in the included Porsche Production Specification. Other notable upgrades include LED headlights, LED gauge cluster lights, DOT-approved retractable seat belts, new interior carpet kit, electric power windshield washer conversion (you want this), and new reproduction trim and seals where needed. Finally the seller spent money on the tires giving it a set of period correct one-year-old Pirelli Cinturato tires. They close stating that full documentation of recent customization and restoration is included. 

If I were shopping for a Porsche 914 this is one I would seriously consider. The only changes I would make, besides the Porsche classic radio, would be to locate a set of Porsche factory option Mahle Pedrini “Gas Burner” alloy wheels to replace the steel wheels with. I just love that look on these cars.

The asking price for this car is a very fair $23,000 which is a good value in the market today.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, click here.