This 1970 Porsche 914-6 is described as a “barn find”, but it sure doesn’t look like one. The seller says it’s been in a California garage undisturbed since the early 90s, so perhaps a garage find is a better description. Regardless, this desirable six-cylinder 914 does appear quite pristine and is a desirable specimen no matter how it was discovered. Find it here on eBay with a $69,000 Buy-It-Now.
This powerful 914 variant was produced in limited numbers, and today is easily one of the most sought-after members of the Porsche family. While the four-cylinder 914s continue to be accessible, affordable project cars, the 914-6 is reserved for the big money crowd. This one is fairly priced, in my opinion, but the seller has still included the option to submit a best offer.
The seller lists the mileage as being just over 10,000, but doesn’t confirm if that’s accurate. The 914 does look like a low-mileage specimen, but more important is that the COA confirms this is a fully matching numbers unit. Next up would be to confirm if the body panels are original as well, along with the health of the engine.
The seller further describes the 914-6 as “…very dry and solid.” The pan seems to confirm this, and given how there is such a thing as a very rusty 914, it’s good to see the underside validate its long-term California address. As far as collector cars go, the 914-6 is up there as one that hasn’t cracked six figure pricing yet, but the question is how much longer will they be available $100K?
While I try to stick to things I know, I know a little about 914’s. The 914-6 is pretty rare. I read, Porsche made 118,000 914-4’s, and less than 4,000 914-6’s.( 3,351 according to Wiki) My least favorite of all Porsches. I had friends with 914’s, but never a 6. Fact is, the only place I saw one was at Road America, and it cleaned up on everybody.
Porsche and volkswagen jointed to make a body for both, the rest is history.
The 914-6 can indeed clean up on a lot of cars on a rally course.
Tire Rack in South Bend opens it’s testing course on Saturdays and the 914-6 beats everything there….
Except the guy with a clapped out ‘88 Fiero GT with an LS6 stuffed in it..
A guy in a GTR walked around that Fiero and looked like he wanted to kick it.
😂
CALIFORNIA DREAMING on price
But this is a nice looking VW err Porsche..six cylinder.
I know it’s rare but in my opinion this has never been the stylish body of its kin folks …
Good luck 👍 on selling the wonderbar car froline
This is not California Dreaming but California Reality! If the car is as presented, no rust, “hell hole” is clean as a whistle, all original, then the price is reasonable for the 914-6. The fact is these are highly regarded collectibles in the Porsche circles. Of course, you can buy a ratty one for about half the price and pay another $40k and more on the restoration. Just looked up a rear bumper for a 914 – over $4k for a complete assembly. There goes about about 6% of this car’s value….
Porsche afficianados fixate on the performance of the car, not its looks. Looks are a shallow right hpersons thing. The 914-6 in fact came with the Porsche badge from the factory whereas the 914-4 did not. The 914-6 could and did clean the respective clocks of every performance car of its era while bone stock from the factory, including 911s. I worked for my father at a Porsche, VW, Audi Dealer during that time. That is a period car I would love to have now.
No 914, 4 or 6, came from the factory with a Porsche badge on the hood.
At least some of the 914-6 cars had a badge on the back that said “914-6 VW PORSCHE”
I drove Karman Ghias for several years. I liked them and always wanted a 914/6. I have kept up on these, and believe me, 70k is reasonable especially in this condition.
You would be hard pressed to find a better deal. These things are relatively powerful and handle like a slot car. If I had the coin, I’d also have this bad boy!
The 914/6 was made for 3 years (1970 – 1972) and 3,315 of them made. Bodies were shipped from VW to the Porsche factory, where Porsche added the rest. These cars have a Porsche VIN, so they are genuine Porsches.
These have been selling at auction recently for a median price of $68K, so the asking is right on, and maybe a bit light if the car is really as original and solid as the seller says and as it seems to be from the pics.
The main question is, what does the seller mean by it being a ‘project’? No info given on that in the ad.
Forget the ‘barn find’ nonsense and focus on the car. If it is as described in the Ebay listing and if it doesn’t need too much to be put on the road, I will be very surprised if it doesn’t get sold. These are very hot right now, and stand out in every way from the 914 series, except for their looks.
I always liked the boxy looks of the 914. My cousin had one, the car self destructed in 40k miles, and was a nightmare to repair. Traded it for a Saab Turbo, which was broken twice as often as the 914 and twice as expensive to repair. Should have kept the 914, even if it was a POS.
Have they really gone up THAT much? I remember when these could be had for peanuts. I am shocked.
People pay $300,000 for a one liter 1960s Abarth, they’ll pay $70K for this.
I briefly owned an Abarth “double bubble” in the mid 60’s it was tiny and thanks to its low weight remarkably quick. Actually, faster than MG’s & TR’s of the period. Oh yes, I bought it for $300.00. Sold it for $600.00. What a stud businessman I was!
They were sub ten grand only a few years ago though?
Nope. We were looking at one for $12k back in the 90’s and it needed a bunch of work. We were sooo close making a deal on it. We passed and couldn’t find another “affordable” project after that.
I remember nice ’75-76 models always seem to be stuck at around $7,500 forever. It’s only in the last few years they have doubled in price with the ’73-74 2.0 models being the top of the “regular” 914 heap mainly because they don’t have the big rubber bumpers.
Didn’t these 914-6 cars have a wide body kit on the rear of them?
You may be thinking of the M471 competition option with box flares and various body and suspension reinforcements, like the 914/6 GT that did so well at Le Mans in 1971. Some factory-built, and many others kit-converted in the field.
I picked up a late 914 with the 2.0 4 cylinder. For such a light car it was very quick. Deceptively so, in fact. I can’t imagine what the 6 cylinder version would be like. I’l never know, since I cannot afford the $67,000 difference between what I had and this one.
Can you imagine how long the list would be of cars that would be more fun to drive that could be bought for $69,000?
We owned 2 914s, one ’72 with a stock 1.7 and a ’73 we built with a 130 hp 1.8 with all the modifications to put a 6 cyl in it. after a 3 year build and some fun on street and tracks we sold the engine to the folks who bought our first car and the car itself to a friend that raced a 914-6 in SCCA and kept throwing big numbers until I sold it to him. He put a heavily modified 2.7 six into it and came by the house for a “previous owner test drive”. About as much fun as you can have with your clothes on!
Also converted a friend’s 4 cylinder race car to a 2.5 six. That one also a ton of fun on the track.
How high were you when you took the picture? Please try again, it looks like a cool track car.
Just click on it.
funny w/no windshield
I’ve always had a fondness for the look of the 914, not traditional styling for a Porsche but to my eyes a sporty and purpose built car. Regardless of any VW lineage, I’d love to own one….take it for what it is, not what you think it is.
This was a sinfully homely VW and I could never understand what was trying to accomplished by producing it but with that said with the correct mods the ones that found their way to the track seemed to compete well.
Not running, as is. Could lead to quite a bit of $$ to make it worthy of the price.
In good running condition this would be a buy but not in my opinion as it sits.
IMHO.
In the 80’s, I heard a loud roar, looked up and saw this 914-6 whizzing around a corner at high speed. I was impressed at it’s handling!
I am always amazed at how much money some Porsches bring when others are downright bargains. I can’t help but think that it is at least partially because Porsche collectors tend to hang with other Porsche collectors (as opposed to collectors in general…because Porsches are relatively plentiful) and, of course, because these collectors are often the .001 percent in terms of income. I get how much fun Porsches can be to drive, but holy crap there are a LOT of other kick-ass choices for $70k. I am mostly a BMW collector, but I have owned several Porsches. If I were looking for a Porsche that is fun as hell to drive and likely to appreciate, I would pick a 996 turbo or a 944 turbo, both very near the bottom of their price curve rather than this car which is near its price apex. 944 Turbos are downright cheap but they are faster than many 911s and, unlike any 914, they are actually practical and comfortortable for a moderately tall person to drive.
I love 944’s, great cars. Fantastic to drive.
Off subject, spotted a 2017 Panamera in my local scrap yard this morning! Front corner ripped off ..
Having owned several 914-4s, two 928s and one 911 (65 gray market), this is a vehicle which always interested me. the price is way overpriced in my opinion.
The “regular” 4 banger 914 was made by the karman-gia plant. They were marketed as Volkswagons in Europe, but once they crossed the big pond they magically became Porsches. The 914 had the same engine as the VW squareback sedan. I can’t speak for the 1.8 version (a fire hazard and other problems as well) or the 2.0, but I can say that the STOCK 1.7’s were no powerhouse. It took me 4 minutes to squeak to 100 mph, coming down off of a slight hill at the start. Many of these 914 owners could not stand the lack of guts and replaced the motors with smallblock V-8’s. The 914-6 was a completely different animal however. I believe that the 911-L or 911-T engine was put into it (not the 911S motor tho). The 914-6 was actually built by Porsche, with 911 type brakes, suspension, gears, drivetrain, etc.
The 914-6 owners out there asking $100,000 for a car out there that is not in perfect condition ( 10 miles on it since new and parked for 50 years, or a 100% restored version) are just speculators… trying to snare in that do not know better. But then again, the value of a vehicle is what it is to the buyer.
In the real world, and in my opinion only, an unrestored 914-6 should go for no more than $20,000, and that is for a imperfect but running/driving machine. But even if it was in perfect shape with 0 miles, no way is the 914-6 worth close to $100,000. Now, if we were talking about a 911S in the same condition, well…
again, please note that this is my opinion only.
Of course, you could fake it with a regular 914… buy/install a 914-6 badge for the rear, put on those 911 type wheels, put on 185/70 series tires (instead of the embarrassingly skinny 165 stock tires and “styled” steel wheels (horrible looking), a hood badge if it does not already have one (my stock 914-4 came with the Porsche badge, but I don’t know if the factory or dealership or owner had put it on), a decent exhaust (I had put on a 4-tipped anza exhaust). The only way you would get caught is if a person in the know had a look at it while parked, but when whizzing by on the freeway, who is to tell. One thing you did not want to do with a faked 914 was accept a freeway challenge from anything but a Yugo or similar vehicle.
I have two of these “jewels”. One was a “project” which I stuffed a 289 V-8 it was a blast to drive! The “project” 914 was a ’71, the stock ’72, both are clean no rust. It’s sad that the “good old day” of affordable fun sports cars are gone. For a Porsche it was a real bargain then. Not only a blast to drive it was cheap & easy to repair. I had no problem picking up chix and attract people when I take my 914 for a spin. It’d a challenge for today’s sports car mix, if any manufacturers can come up with something similar to the 914!
I drove a friend’s new 914-6 many times back in 1970 when I lived in Germany. If you floored it at the traffic lights the Targa top would pop out because the chassis flexed so much. They also spin nicely in the wet – with the engine in the middle of the car the polar inertia revolves around the engine as a fulcrum.
To my view of things you would have way more fun in one of Rod Simpson’s V8 hybrids for a fraction of the price. Add the 916 body kit and you have a mean, purposeful looking piece of hardware.
I absolutely do not understand the « Volkswagen – Porsche » debate (exept from a snob perspective). Bodys came from Karmann, not VW. The Beetle flat4 is a genuine Ferdinand Porsche conception (and he loved mid-engined roadsters). Everything else was designed by the Porsche Team. What does it mean being « a true Porsche » ? The flat 6 was not designed by Ferdinand, neither the 911. So, should’nt we take the 914/4 as being more Porsche than 911 ? What’s with the 914 not being a true Porsche ??
In the mid 80’s, while I was in high school, I sold my first car, a 69 Buick Riviera GS for twice what I paid. I was ready for something different. In my neighborhood, a retired doctor had a 914-6 and had passed away. His wife put a For Sale sign on it in her driveway, asking 5 grand. I wanted that car so bad! But being on my father’s insurance, I had to get the thumbs up from him before I bought anything. So we test drove it, and what a blast that was! Too much so, unfortunately. My Dad said no way, too fast and I’d get in too much trouble with it. I ended up buying a 78 Volvo 242 GT instead, a totally different direction than the Porsche. I loved that Volvo and would love to have another one. But I always remember that Porsche that got away!
I gave my brothers 914 away with the 6 cylinder for 4,000 dollars. Had it for sale for six months without 1 buyer. It was in pristine condition. !973 Something really amiss here.
Just for those not of the opinion this car’s price isn’t in the ballpark, here’s one on BAT.https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1970-porsche-914-6-7/
I don’t disagree they seem to be making that money now. Just why and how they got there so quick is what surprises me. Despite other views I remember these being dirt cheap not that long ago.
I had a lot of Porsche’s 10 to 20 years ago and they would clog up my searches when buying 944’s and 928’s.
I think it gets down to two things. They weren’t taken care of and they were not made in large numbers, hence rare.
I’ll take an ’06CS for a fourth the price. Just a better, more powerful car to drive.
To me the 914s were always such “honest” cars. Looked at a 914-6 as a teen back in the ’80s. My heart said yes but my head said no. Regrets? Yes, but today for the money both my heart and head are quite happy with my vastly quicker Maxton Rollerskate roadster for a quarter of the price.
I worked for the Fire Department in Los Angeles County. Just on Topanga Canyon alone I went on no less than 6 914-6 that burned. I think they got to hot with hardly and ventilation. Never went on a 4 cylinder fire.
Years ago I was acquainted with a guy who made his own 914-6 version, by installing a modified Corvair engine. The car was reportedly extremely fast. But it suffered a “Weber Burp” and burnt to the ground. A sad end to a killer project.
Back in 1991 I help my brother by his first car and he found a 71 914 six in Santa Monica for $7500 immaculate couldn’t find a thing wrong with it great little car next thing I know he sold it to buy a different car , he didn’t tell me he was selling it or I would’ve bought it chalk another one that got away