Porsche

Porsche 914

Rumors are flying that two of Germany’s legendary automobile manufacturers are engaged in talks of a buyout. The mass-market goliath and the small specialist have a history together, but corporate identities and jobs are at stake, and the direction these companies take will ripple through the industry. At the heart of it all lies the Porsche 914.

The 914? Yes, and the year is 1969.

While current headlines refer to Porsche’s ongoing efforts to buy a majority stake in Volkswagen — as of 2007 they own about 30% of VW’s stock and are still shopping — in 1969, a series of agreements, disputes, and the everlasting struggle for profit on the 914 project had journalists wondering if proletarian VW was about to merge with or take over the upscale Porsche. News got so speculative that Ferry Porsche issued a letter stating “Porsche remains Porsche!”

The companies had agreed in 1948 that Porsche would act as a design consultant to the larger VW, and of course Ferdinand Porsche had designed the Beetle, so when the 911 was introduced at a much higher price than the 912, Ferry Porsche had someone to call when he wanted to produce a lower-priced sports car. His friend Heinz Nordhoff was the Managing Director at VW, and Nordhoff, after his success with the Beetle, saw the need for VW to move upscale.

The two made a deal, part on paper and part gentleman’s agreement, whereby they would create a new sports car that could use a VW engine. The bodies would be supplied to Porsche at a reasonable price, and the company could then install its own engine.

Both men wanted something new — something that looked neither like a VW nor a Porsche — so the industrial design firm Gugelot was commissioned to pen the body. Gugelot was anxious to try their hand at a car, having been influential with their designs for Braun appliances, Kodak slide projectors, and Pfaff sewing machines. For inspiration they looked towards race cars and other manufacturers. Coopers had won Grand Prix events with a mid-engine layout, Ferrari recorded a win at Le Mans in a mid-engine car, and Lotus-Ford placed first in Indianapolis in 1965. Furthermore, at the 1967 Geneva Auto Show mid-engine designs debuted from Ferrari, Lamborghini, DeTomaso, Lotus, and Matra. And because the Ferrari used a Fiat engine and the Lotus a Renault, collaboration between makers seemed marketable.

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