Rightful Respect: 1972 Porsche 914 1.7 – SOLD!

March 18, 2022, Update – We confirmed the seller of this “Classifind” deleted their listing, so we’re now able to call this one “SOLD!” While this one got away, please reach out either by email or call us directly if you’d like to be informed when we come across something similar.

Funny how times change.  Once considered not really being a true example because of its Volkswagen-derived Type IV engine, the mid-engined Porsche 914 of the early 1970s are finally getting the respect they always deserved. Finding an example that has not succumbed to rust, however, can be a challenge. It wasn’t that long ago that $15,000 would buy you a Concours-Quality Porsche 914.  This freshly painted, matching numbers, Willow Green over Black, 1972 Porsche 914 1.7L originally listed on Craigslist in March 2022 in Wesley Chapel, Florida (Tampa) shows that is no longer the case.

Currently offered for $26,000, comparing this asking price against the Hagerty Insurance Online Valuation Tool confirms this private seller has his 914 priced between this guide’s #3 “Good” estimate of $18,000 and its #2 “Excellent” appraisal of $40,000.  As a second data point, looking up this car on the Collector Car Market Review website reveals the seller’s ask falls between this guide’s #2 “Very Good” estimate of $22,300 and its #1 “Excellent” appraisal of $37,000.

By the late 1960s, both Porsche and Volkswagen saw the need for new entry-level sports cars for their respective divisions:  VW was hoping to replace its aging Karmann Ghia while Porsche wanted to replace the 912 with a distinctively different model.  The two joined forces to co-develop the Targa-topped, two-seat, mid-engined 914 sports car.  While in Europe 914s were labeled VW-Porsches, in North America the car was only sold through Porsche dealerships.  Originally intending to sell the vehicle with a flat four-cylinder engine as a Volkswagen and with a flat six-cylinder engine as a Porsche, Porsche decided during development that having Volkswagen and Porsche models sharing the same body would be risky for business in the American market, and convinced Volkswagen to allow them to sell both versions as Porsches in North America.

Six weeks after designers presented the first 914 prototypes on March 1, 1968, development became complicated following the death of Volkswagen’s chairman, Heinrich Nordhoff in April that same year. His successor, Kurt Lotz, was not connected with the Porsche dynasty and the verbal agreement between Volkswagen and Porsche fell apart.  In Lotz’s opinion, Volkswagen had all rights to the model and no incentive to share it with Porsche if they would not share in tooling expenses. With this decision, the price and marketing concept for the 914 had failed before series production had begun. As a result, the price of the chassis went up considerably, and the 914/6 ended up costing only a bit less than the 911T, Porsche’s next lowest-priced car.

Launched in the fall of 1969, Motor Trend named the 914 its Import Car of the Year for 1970.  Unfortunately, slow sales and rising costs prompted Porsche to discontinue the 914/6 variant in 1972 after producing 3,351 of them.  However, the 914/4 such as the example featured here became Porsche’s top-selling model during its six-year production run with well over 100,000 units sold worldwide.  Long considered the step-child entry-level car in the Porsche community, the nostalgia growth of all things air-cooled in the past six years helped fuel the popularity of 914/4s and prices are starting to reflect that.

On his YouTube Channel, Ian Karr takes you through the first installment of his “914s for Newbies” series by showing where the VIN numbers are located in a Porsche 914:

With a fresh paint job and what appears to be heavy undercoating, we would ask the seller for before and after painting pictures as well as take our time closely inspecting the underside of this 1972 Porsche 914 1.7L.

Here’s the seller’s description:

“1972 Porsche 914, 1.7 Liter. Presenting this beautiful 1972 Porsche 914 1.7 featured with matching numbers and is available in its RARE factory color code #L63K Willow Green with reupholstered seats, and black interior. The vehicle comes equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission, dual Weber carburetors, beautiful wood steering wheel, full spare tire with Fuch rim and jack. This well taken care of Porsche is also mechanically sound. Recently had the car painted the original color Willow Green, new Goodyear tires, Duracell AGM battery, all the engine seals changed, tuned up, carburetors adjusted, and oil changed. The car has beautiful polished Fuch rims, with clear Italian brake and sidelights. All the electrical and interior gauges work except the odometer stopped working about 3 weeks ago. I also have the original trunk deck lid as I changed that out for a new fiberglass decklid with a spoiler”

Do you have a Porsche 914 1.7 story to share?  If so, comment below and let us know!