This lovely new video from Petrolicious shares the story of one of the least well known Porsche out there, the 914-6. It comes from Jack Griffin, a collector who's so int his boxer engines that he even has a cardboard mockup of James Dean in his office. Now that's passion guys!
When it was new, a 914 cost just $3,500 in America. It wasn't exactly Ford Mustang money, but $25,000 in today's money means it was the Scion FR-S. Now, can you imagine a Scion fan buying a FR-S today and owning it until 2052? Because that's exactly what Mr. Griffin did with his car – he kept it for 38 years.
The 914 is the ugly duckling of the brand, always criticized for its budget car appearance and lack o power. But just like the 356, it has many secrets. For instance, the 914-6 is equipped with a 911 six-cylinder engine, as oposed to a 4-cylinder on the regular model. It's like the Boxster GTS of its time.
Designed to be as simple to use as a Beetle, the 914 was very light, only weighing a smidgen over 200 pounds. Unlike the 911, the engine was in the middle, like on a proper race car. Fully independent rear suspension and a five-speed manual made driving it a doodle.
Many Porsche fans in America already know about Mr. Griffin. Over the years, he's participated in virtually any type of even associated with the Porsche brand, including racing, touring, collection and restoring some amazing classics to the highest levels. They only made 3,332 examples of the 914-6, so this one is a pretty special thing to see, especially in this condition.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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