The 2003 Porsche 914

[philinjax]

Have you guys seen the pics and write up on the Porsche Carrera GT, page 8 of the 12/17 Auto Week mag?
If that ain't what would have been the result of a continuing lineage to the 2003 914-10, I don't know what would have been. Two place, roof stows in the trunk, mid engined with tranny aft and a steep angled windshield reminiscent of seventies teeners. It's hard to figure this car as a progression of the 911 or Boxter, it's a new 914.
Phil

[JP Noonan]

Even more intriguing is the rumor of a $30K mid engine Porsche with a Audi 1.8T motor.

New 914?

Lot better than the MR2, but lets not start that again, apples/oranges.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Those rumors (a new VW-engined mid-engine Porsche) have been around for more than 10 years. I won't hold my breath...

--DD

[sweater914]

buy the time they're done they'll realise they'll made something better than the 911 and have to rachet up the price to make the 911 more attractive again, if only porsche would've kept making the 914-6

[thamlin000]

Easy solution to that.

Porsche could build a bare-bones, two seat, no frills roadster with a mid-mounted 1.8T engine. Make it a featherweight-no ABS, no climate control, no pwr windows/locks/seats, basically no luxury features. Think Lotus Elise. Price it at $30k and it won't even compete with the larger and more comfy Boxster.

I'd be interested.

[URY914]

I saw the article and thought the same thing. Thirty years after building my 914, they come out with another one. Did you see the price? $500,000.00!!! If you had half a million couldn't you buy just about ALL the 914s in the world?

[DSPTurtle]

But where would you put them?

[dman]

Or one 914 and all the parts in the world!!

[prattrc]

I have to say I can't see the 914:Carrera GT lineage, if anything I'd say that it is more from the Carrera GTS 904 line.

With $500K you could buy that 916 down there in Hotlanta and still have a little cash to spare to I don't know, insure it for a year.

[URY914]

The 916 at *********** is WAY over priced. OK, it was on the cover of Road and Track with Peter Gregg driving it and it is one of only two in the country (Otis Chandler had one in LA in the '80s, maybe still does), but it really isn't that big of a deal.

[philinjax]

Ray,
The 904 wasn't a street car, was it? It hardly relates to the 914. To me, the new GT looks like the culmination of 30 years of 914 development.

The 916, a fabulous car, no doubt, was only the first (and last) step in the development of the new GT.

Phil

[URY914]

The 904 was "sort of" a street car. As it was street legal but really wasn't built to be a street car. The new car is closer to the 914 than the Boxster or 904 because of the top being able to be removed and stored in the trunk, but thats about it.

[Rouser]

The 914 is more directly related to the 904 (of which there are road-going versions; big $$$ if you find one not snapping itself in half), than (as Porsche quietly claims) the Boxster is to the 550 Spyder!

Forget there being any resurgence of the 914 moniker, as that's a figment of Porsche's past they'd care not be reminded of. I wouldn't mind a more stripped down, 1.8T - 2.0T "Speedster" version of the Boxster, in Coupe, Sunroof, or Targa flavors. But as far as seeing "914" pasted in the rear? Those numbers are just a date to Porsche...

[sweater914]

porsche won't go back to anything less than the boxster, to much competition in the 2 seat 4cyl market, miata, MR2 just a few, anything in $30000 range gets you american V-8 grunt with mustangs/camaros(RIP), and a whole raft of other decent cars, porsche would have to rely almost totally on brand loyalty/reputation if it were to make a "stripper" porsche

i think the cayenne fits in this category

[philinjax]

You guys don't seem to get the point, I'm not advocating or imaging that Porsche would really produce a new 914, I'm just saying that the new GT seems, to me, to be more so a derivative of the 914 concept than that of the 911 or Boxter.

Phil

[prattrc]

I don't really think it's a new 904 either, I only mean that they could both be considered elite, highly expensive supercars, whereas the 914 is a car for the masses.

(raises deflector sheilds)

Why don't you consider the Boxster to be the modern 914? It is a lot more like the 914 than the Carrera GT is. It is midengined, entry-level, powered by a de-tuned 911 engine (like the 914/6), very fast in the twisties, and looked down upon by many enthusiasts. It's just not a targa. I've always thought it was more 914 than 550.

[Rleog]

A little off track, but if you want a look at a more affordable 904 GTS, try www.904gts.com/ or check out the Feb 2002 issue of Excellence mag. The most beautiful Porsche ever, and this one streetable.

[sweater914]

the boxster or butthole (as friends call it, the exhaust location), definitely has more 550 genes than the 914, the purpose however leans more toward the 914