As I looked across the lawn at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum’s German Car Day between a Porsche Cayman GT4 and the Porsche 914s that lined the row behind it, I couldn’t help but feel that the diminutive design doesn’t get enough credit from enthusiasts. Indeed the aura of the 911 is so thoroughly encompassing it overshadows nearly every other Porsche model conceived and constructed, but especially this seems to be true of the 1970s. During that time Porsche launched groundbreaking models like the 924 and 928; generally, both very unappreciated compared to the air-cooled siblings. But the 914 seems nearly forgotten despite its similar engine behind the driver and atmospheric cooling setup. Why? Well, it’s not the prettiest Porsche design, it’s true – but presented properly it is still quite neat. The neatest of the bunch are probably the original, fat-flared 914-6 GT models. Ready to blow your mind? Fresh off their somewhat surprising and unlikely victory at Le Mans yesterday, I thought it would be nice to take a look at a 914-6 GT replica, because 46 years ago Porsche themselves entered such a car at the 24 hour endurance race. Now, 1970 is probably a lot more memorable for Porsche because it was the famous red Salzburg 917K Attwood/Hermann that took overall victory. You might remember the 1970 race for being the basis of the Steve McQueen movie that was appropriately named, too. But what was perhaps the most amazing thing about that race was who finished 5th overall. Following the 917K and the 917LH along with two Ferrari 512Ss was that Porsche 914-6 GT, some three laps ahead of a 911S. How’s that for something to put on your resume?
