The 914 Turns 50 This Year And The Porsche Museum Is Getting Ready To Honor Its First Mid-Engined Sports Car

The Porsche 914 had just about all the ingredients that made a great sports car: mid-engined (a first for any German motor manufacturer), lightweight and with a well-balanced chassis, it should have been an instant hit. But thanks to its rather awkward looks and underpowered Volkswagen-derived 1.7-liter four-cylinder motor, it was not initially met with the kind of universal praise that Porsche had grown accustomed to.

Despite that inauspicious start, the 914 evolved into a very capable sports car and in 914/4 form outsold the 911 by quite some margin too. Most 914s were sold in the US where they were marketed solely as Porsches and the more powerful 2.0-liter four and flat-six cylinder variants offered performance more befitting of a Porsche. These Targa-topped two-seaters proved to be very capable track machines too and have become quite sought-after in the intervening years.

To celebrate its 50th anniversary the Porsche Museum will be hosting a “Typically Porsche Day” where over 120 owners of 914 models will be in attendance. Visitors will have a number of interesting events to pick from, such as a selection of expert panels on the 914 with people like former development and race engineer Roland Kussmaul, former chassis developer and race driver Hans Clausecker, as well as engineer and race driver Günter Steckkönig looking back at the genesis and legendary moments of the Porsche 914.

There will also be twelve exhibits featuring all of the 914 production models as well as the creations they inspired. Notable vehicles include one of two eight-cylinder 914 S Porsche prototypes, a privately-owned reconstruction project car with the heart of a 350hp 928 GTS and the ill-fated 2.4-liter 911-engined 916 which never made it into production. The Typically Porsche Day will take place on June 2 at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany running until June 7. Entry is free.

Images courtesy of the Porsche Museum