I’ve covered Porsche 912s here on BF before, but they’ve always been the first-gen (’65-’69) variety. Today, for your review, I have a very sharp-looking second-gen 1976 912E to consider. If looks could kill, this baby has them, but does it have the “go” to match? Well, let’s give it the once over and see what’s really here. Beautiful Monterey, California is where you’ll find this entry-level Porsche, and it’s available here on eBay for a BIN price of $44,500, OBO.
I’ll admit to having only one experience with a Porsche 912 which was in a ’68 example that belonged to a good friend. I was visiting the city where I had once lived and he loaned me the car for weekend use. It looked great, drove and handled perfectly, but was certainly no world-beater with its four-cylinder VW engine. Still, the driving experience was spirited, and I’d lost that hot-rod Jones bug by then, anyway. Research tells us that the 912E’s redux was to fill the gap in Porsche’s lineup between the impending departure of the 914 and the anticipated arrival of the new 924. These are rare cars, with only 2,100 being assembled, according to rennlist.com. And that rarity is what drives their current market values. And that’s a bit of a conundrum – rarity doesn’t necessarily equate to better.
Finished in “Ice Green Metallic”, this 912 is a looker! With only 64K miles on its life clock, it presents beautifully. It’s a life-long Bay Area car, parked in 1993, and that combination helps explain its current condition. The seller adds, “Exterior is in good condition. Paint is deep and glossy. This car has no previous accidents. And it has no rust.” I’m of mixed thought regarding this 912’s bumpers. I’d suggest that Porsche did a good job federalizing the front rammer but missed the boat on the rear. The instantly recognizable Fuchs wheels complete the visuals.
What separates this 912E from the 911 is “two”, as in two fewer cylinders. The VW-sourced 2.0-liter, flat four-cylinder engine in this 912E is good for 86 net HP and provides the rear wheel hook-up via a five-speed manual transaxle. Said to still possess its original drive train, the seller states, “The motor needs a really good service, as we did the bare minimum. The transmission shifts smoothly through all gears and the brakes and suspension feel just fine.”
The interior’s condition matches that of the exterior – it’s near perfect. I’ll admit that I don’t get the “wooly mammoth” look seat covers and would probably 86 ’em on the first day of ownership, but that’s just me. Beyond that, the very Germanic environment is just perfect and it could be safely said, that it requires nothing. Check out the listing images, I think this is the first time I’ve ever given the backseat in one of these any consideration. I think if you’re more than three feet two, you’re not gonna’ fit.
There’s really nothing here to debate, except for the price – it seems rich for an entry-level Porsche. If you look around, you can find a ’76 911 in the marketplace for not that much more, and those are a very different animal. Of course, fine condition counts for something too. So, what’s your thought, priced right, or not quite?
Jim, the 1976 does indeed have a VW-derived motor but that 1968 you drove was a pure Porsche mill.
License plate not from ‘76. Blue numerals on white background didn’t come out until the mid eighties. Maybe it originally had a vanity plate, or lost plat required new ones. Or maybe this was not a California car.
Hood catch on the plate, the 2 at the beginning signifies this is the second rotation through the alphanumeric sequence, right now California is currently working it’s 9th rotation. The plates on this car would have been issued in the mid to late-80’s.
Steve R
Used to get 35 to 40 mpg with my 76 912E on the highway.
While the 912E motor is similar to the VW version they are not the same. The Porsche has a more aggressive cam grind, the heads are different and the valves are larger (by 2mm). The valve seats are prone to leak causing smoking out the tail pipe but there is a fix requiring an engine tear down of course. The VW 2.0 bus block and these are pretty much the same though. With “minimal” engine maintenance on this your going to be spending $10K+ on top of the steep purchase price for a rebuild.
Bought our 912E new from the factory in ‘late ’75. The factory pick-up was worth everything as we did it on our way back from the ’76 Le Mans race. At $3.50 a gallon of gas in Europe at the time, we needed a car that got good mileage and would cruise at 100 mph. Scrapping the smog stuff for a good set of headers and tinkering with the fuel system got us a great great road car that would run 120 mph all day. The fat rear rubber is easily replaced by the much narrower European versions. We did lower the car to European specs, installed larger front and rear sway bars, and put a set of electric factory mirrors on. They weren’t available from the factory until ’77.