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Porsche 916 - the fastest and rarest road sports car from Zuffenhausen at the time

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Created on August 11, 2020

Reading time 7min

Written by:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Jasen Delgado - Courtesy RM Auctions

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Porsche AG

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Artcurial

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Archiv

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Jasen Delgado - Courtesy RM Auctions

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Porsche AG

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Artcurial

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Archiv

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Porsche 916 (1972) - optisch ähnlich zu den 914-6-GT-Versionen

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Porsche 916 (1972) - die Frontschürze mit zusätzlichen Frontspoiler und Lufteinlass zum Ölkühler

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Porsche 916 (1972) - ursprünglich gefahren von Louise Piëch, der Schwester von Ferdinand Piëch

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Porsche 916 (1972) - damals der schnellste "Serien"-Porsche

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Porsche 916 (1972) - das Stahldach ist fest verschweisst

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Porsche 916 (1972) - neun Zentimeter breiter war der 916 als der 914

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Porsche 916 (1972) - das Interieur konnten die Käufer individuell gestalten lassen

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Porsche 916 (1972) - geschmackvolles Interieur mit viel Leder und Cord-Einsätzen

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Porsche 916 (1972) - wohnlich eingerichtet

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Porsche 916 (1972) - Tacho bis 250 km/h, roter Drehzahlbereich ab 7200 Umdrehungen

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Porsche 916 (1972) - das Fünfganggetriebe stammte aus dem 911 S

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Porsche 916 (1972) - viel Leder auch bei den Türverkleidungen

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Porsche 916 (1972) - ausgerüstet mit dem 2,4-Liter-Motor aus dem 911 S

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Porsche 916 (1972) - für Mechaniker ist der schmale Schlitz sicherlich keine Offenbarung

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Porsche 916 (1972) - auch vorne konnte noch einiges untergebracht werden

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Porsche 916 (1972) - viel Kofferraum für einen Supersportwagen

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Porsche 916 (1972) - Sieben-Zoll-Räder

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Porsche 916 (1972) - die Verbreiterungen wurden bei Baur angeschweisst

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Porsche 916 (1972) - die Rohkarosserien wurden bei Karmann gefertigt

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Porsche 916 (1972) - mit eigenem Typenschriftug

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Porsche 916 (1972) - in Hellgrün

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Porsche 916 (1972) - in Weiss

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VW-Porsche 914 (1970) - Durchsichtszeichnung der Sechszylinderversion

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VW-Porsche 914 (1969) - Durchsichtszeichnung

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VW-Porsche 914/6 (1970) - die Basis für den 916

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VW-Porsche 914 (1971) - der Sechszylinder 914 6 im Vergleich zum Porsche 911 T

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Das Serien-Armaturenbrett des Porsche 914/6

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Die Seriensitze des Porsche 914/6

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Porsche 914/6 GT (1970) - fährt auf Platz 6 der Gesamtwertung bei den 24 Stunden von Le Mans 1970

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Porsche 916 prototype "Brutus" (1971) - als Lot 124 angeboten an der Artcurial Rétromobile Versteigerung in Paris am 8. Februar 2019

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Summary

Although the VW-Porsche 914 was a success, the six-cylinder variants could not be sold in the numbers that Porsche had hoped for. The decision was made to move forward and the 916 was created as a super 914, which with 210 hp would have been the fastest, but also the most expensive Porsche of the 1972 model year. But even before the start of series production, the emergency brake was pulled because the car had become too expensive. Only ten coupés and one prototype were produced, and today they are among the most valuable road-going Porsches of the early 1970s. This vehicle report tells the story of the rare 914 derivative and shows it in historical and current pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

Question of prestige
From the race track to the road
Too expensive
The fastest production Porsche of its time?
Only eleven built
All survived?
No salvation for the six-cylinder 914

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Although the VW-Porsche was greeted with joy at its premiere in 1969 - after all, there were not many mid-engined sports cars with an open roof on the market - the more powerful version with the Porsche six-cylinder engine in particular struggled. Sales figures fell short of expectations. There were even rumors in the press that production of the 914/6 had been halted, which is why the company was forced to issue a denial. In any case, the following could be read in Automobil Revue early in 1971: "VW-Porsche, the sales company for both the mid-engined sports cars and the rear-engined models, describes the report that production of the 914/6 (mid-engined car with six-cylinder) had been discontinued as completely unfounded. This news is obviously due to the fact that sales of this type did not reach the original targets because of the high price and that annual production, which had amounted to around 2000 units in 1970, would be reduced to around 700 to a maximum of 1000 units in the coming year. However, the 914/6 will probably continue to be built in 1972."

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