The Amelia Concours d’Elegance is celebrating the Porsche 914 next March during its 20th annual show. The quirky, asymmetrical midengined 914 will join the Stutz brand as this year's honorees.
A joint venture between Porsche and Volkswagen, the 914 has perpetually played second fiddle to its celebrated 911 brother. The first prototype appeared in 1968, headed by then-Porsche research and development chief Ferdinand Piech, and intended as a replacement for four-cylinder 912.
The lower-priced 914 outsold the 911 and brought loads of new clientele into Porsche showrooms. During the same period, the company was also developing the world-beating 917 Le Mans endurance racer, cementing its reputation as a giant killer.
“It was fashionable with some self-proclaimed Porsche purists to consider the 914 an ‘ugly duckling,’” said Bill Warner, founder and chairman of the Amelia Concours d’Elegance. “That changed very quickly. Here in north Florida, the Porsche 914 found a home and willing customers through the racing exploits of Peter Gregg, Hurley Haywood and Brumos Porsche, who took the 914/6 GT to victory in the first IMSA GT race in history on the way to winning the first IMSA GT Championship title in 1971.”
Drivers of the 914 won half the races in the 1971 IMSA GT championship season, beating more powerful cars like the Corvette, Camaro and Mustang.
Drivers of the 914 won half the races in the 1971 IMSA GT championship season, beating more powerful cars like the Corvette, Camaro and Mustang.
“The 914/6 GT was my first real race car,” said Hurley Haywood, five-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona. "Peter Gregg and I shared the Championship in 1971 in my first year of professional racing. The 914 was really fun to drive and we would kill the big-block Chevys and Fords in IMSA. We still have that car in our collection and use it often to give rides to our Porsche driving school customers.”
The 2015 Amelia Island Concours returns March 13-15 on the 10th and 18th fairways of the The Golf Club of Amelia Island. The event raises money for charities in Florida, including the Community Hospice of Northeast Florida. Check out ameliaconcours.org for more information.
Ex-Peter Gregg 1972 Porsche 916: The ex-Peter Gregg 1972 Porsche 916, one of only 11 ever manufactured, is now owned by George Hussey of Atlanta. This period shot is of Gregg driving the car for a photo shoot for Road & Track magazine. Photo Credit Bill Warner.
