914 LIMITED EDITION AUTHENTICITY AND VALUE

How rare is a Porsche 914 Limited Edition?  Several unofficial sources indicate that the 914 LE car production was limited to only 1000 cars, including the highly esteemed book Excellence was Expected, by Karl Ludvigsen.  In a letter dated February 4, 1991 on Porsche factory letterhead, it is clear from this letter that factory records are not made available which verify the exact number of 914 Porsche Limited Editions produced.

 From the data available, it appears that the 914 Porsche LE cars were manufactured during mid-February through July of 1974.  Factory records generally indicate that Porsche 914 cars were fabricated at an average maximum rate of about 600 per week, so mathematically during those two months about 5000 total Porsche 914 cars could have been manufactured.  If that average production rate is accurate, the 914 Porsche LE production run would have equaled approximately 20 percent of the total 914 production volume during those months, allowing for other standard 914 cars to be produced during that time frame.

Data gleaned from the VIN numbers reflected on the 914 Can Am Registry however suggest that there were only about half that many total 914s manufactured during that time period, about 2400 vehicles, so the records suggest that it is probable that as many as half of the 914 cars assembled in those few weeks during the Spring of 1974 were 914 Can Am cars.  That’s a lot of black and white coming down the production line, but the factory was clearly not near their production capacity.

We know there were ~118,000 total 914 cars produced from 1970-76, with 1000 914 LE cars built, so less than 1% of all 914 cars ever produced were 914 LE cars.  Furthermore, with only 1000 914 LE cars produced, an authentic 914 LE car would be three times as rare as the Porsche 914/6, of which over 3,200 examples were manufactured.  Based on this limited production quantity, the only factory-produced 914 Porsche cars more rare than a 914 LE cars, are the 914/6 GTs, 914s with Sportomatics and of course the 916 and 914/8 cars.  Because of their rarity, special status and unique features, any of the 914 Can Am cars are the most prestigious and collectable of all factory-produced four-cylinder 914s.

  

914 LE WannaBe 1                                   914LE WannaBe 2

To authenticate a factory 914 Porsche Limited Edition car, verify the following:  If ANY of the following items do not match the vehicle you are inspecting or something else does not seem right…proceed with great caution, ask lots of questions and even get a second opinion.  Run away from a forgery if you care about authenticity and resale value.

·                          If available, confirm the COA information with the vehicle.  Verify that the vehicle has the equipment listed on the COA, VIN, Chassis plate, Safety Compliance Label and rear trunk numbers.  A 914 LE without a COA is significantly devalued, and should be priced comparable to a standard 914.

The VIN should be within or close to the known range of other 914 LE cars:  Approximately from 4742914300 to 4742921400

The first three numbers of the Chassis Plate should be within or close to the known range of other 914 LE cars:  071 to 282

·                          Confirm the remaining typical 914 LE features as illustrated on the 914 LE webpage:

-          Paint code L041 or L80E

-          Front spoiler

-          Side stripes / accent color valences and bumpers

-          Targa bar vinyl / black exterior metal trim, foglamp grilles

-          Center painted wheels

-          Light grey headlight relay covers

-          2.0L engine, front/rear anti-roll bars, foglamps, center console

-          Black center instrument gauges

-          Black plastic tailpanel emblems, windshield washer jets

·                          Confirm vehicle manufacturing date between February and July 1974, found on the Safety Compliance Label on the drivers door rearward jamb and on the COA.

914 Porsche Safety Compliance Label

Drivers door, rearward jamb

·                          Confirm base body color is either Black (L041) or Light Ivory (L80E), as indicated on the Karmann Chassis Plate on the drivers door forward jamb.  Of course the production number on the Karmann Chassis Plate must also match the production number stamped into the right rear trunk floor.

914 Porsche Karmann Chassis Plate

Drivers door forward jamb

914 Porsche Production Number

Right rear trunk floor

Chassis Number and Paint Code:  The chassis number is found in two places, on the chassis plate attached to the front drivers door jamb and also stamped into the right rear trunk floor.  The chassis number is actually a code telling us the consecutive number of the particular chassis, and the date production was initiated on that particular chassis.  The chassis production number decodement is:

 

WW-D-9-5XX   Where:

 

WW = the week of a given calendar year

D = the day of the week of the calendar year (Monday =1)

9 = the code for the Karmann Factory at Osnabrueck where all 914 chassis were fabricated

5XX = the consecutive chassis number, beginning with number 500 each day for 1974 Porsche 914 cars

 

The chassis date on the 914 chassis plate, reflects the date production began on each chassis, by calendar week of the given year, and the specific day of that calendar week.  The chassis dates from the cars on the Registry, from the earliest to the latest known dates, indicate that the 914 Can Am cars began production between the 7th and 28th weeks of 1974, between mid-February and July of 1974.  914s began production in chassis date order, regardless of VIN.  There is no direct correlation between the 914 chassis date and its VIN number.  Certain chassis with higher VINs, began production before other chassis with lower VINs and vice-versa.  Chassis and drivetrain components were not always combined in the numerical order in which they were originally produced either.  Earlier numbered engines and transaxles were installed into later numbered chassis and vice-versa.Therefore, the vehicle with this chassis plate was the 19th chassis which begun assembly on the 4th day, of the 8th week of the year (1974), which translates to the cars ‘conception’ date of Thursday, 21 February 1974.  You will need the PCNA COA to know the cars birthdate, which is the date the car was completed, if the factory records list it.

What did a 914 Porsche Limited Edition originally cost?  The equipment and features making a standard 914 Porsche into a 914 Limited Edition were officially available to customers as the GT Option Pack, or ‘Grand Tourisme pack’ on the 1974 model year price list.  Porsche conceived the 914 Can Am cars as a way to offer a unique model without extensive tooling and developmental costs.  In the simplest terms the 914 Can Am cars were standard 914 Porsches manufactured fully-appointed with most optional factory equipment, with special paint color schemes, a unique front spoiler and specially designed side stripes.  I have located three different descriptions of the pricing for a new 1974 Porsche 914 Limited Edition car described below.

In Excellence was Expected, the price for a 914 Porsche Limited Edition is given as:  $6050.  Base price 1974 914 2.0L + $320. extra cost + $300. Appearance Group = $6670.  We know from other sources that there were optional items available and provided with certain 914 Porsche Limited Edition cars such as tinted glass, rear window defroster and other items that would modify these costs.

A 914 Porsche Limited Edition car was bargain-priced compared to a similarly equipped 1974 Porsche 914 2.0L.  The table below is the factory price list included in Brian Longs book, with a cost comparison for the two comparably equipped cars.  Using these figures, the 914 Porsche Limited Edition car was more than 12% less expensive than a comparably equipped standard 1974 Porsche 914.  There was no Sport Group offered in 1974 as in the previous years, but the Sport Group equipment items were available individually.  Note that, for purposes of this comparison, while the comparable standard 1974 914 car would have had the special black base paint color (at additional cost), it would still only have had black painted bumpers and Mahle cast alloy wheels (where most 914 Porsche buyers preferred the Fuchs and chrome bumpers) and it would also not have the special 914 Porsche Limited Edition front spoiler, side stripes or the enviable Cool Factor of the 914 Limited Edition.  At this pricing discount level, the 914 Porsche Limited Edition cars could only have been considered as a loss leader for the purpose of attracting more buyers to the standard 914 car.

1974 Porsche 914 Factory Price list comparison

 

 

 

May 1974

Cost comparison of Limited Edition vs similarly equipped 1974 Porsche 914 2.0L

 

Item

Description

DM

DM

914 LE

Std 914 2.0L equipped as 914 LE

914-1.8

 

 

15750

 

 

914-2.0

 

 

16870

16870

16870

Comfort pack

 

800

included

800

Grand Tourisme pack

 

990

990

a la carte

Special paint not listed

 

894

 

 

Special paint on list (for a Bumblebee)

 

610

included

610

 

 

 

 

 

 

Option Prices

1.8L

2.0L

 

 

M474

Bilstein shock absorbers

337

337

included

337

M485

Pressure cast alloy wheels 5.5Jx15 [Mahle]

726

726

included

726

M596

Forged alloy wheels 5.5Jx15 [Fuchs]

842

842

 

 

M220

Sperr differential (80 percent)

726

726

 

 

M404

Anti-roll bars

316

316

included

316

M102

Heated rear screen

118

118

 

 

M285

Chrome bumpers

316

316

 

 

M568

Laminated tinted glass (except rear)

410

252

included

252

M089

Tinted windscreen

167

included

 

 

M567

Laminated tinted windscreen

316

158

 

 

M640

PVC underseal

68

68

 

 

M591

Centre console (as in Comfort pack)

62

62

included

included

M166

Seat belt for M570

58

58

 

 

M570

Third seat cushion

53

53

included

53

M565

Sports padded steering wheel as in (Comfort pack)

116

116

included

included

M490

Electric aerial

135

135

 

 

M097

Emden radio with electric aerial

365

365

 

 

M095

Wolfsburg radio

288

288