The wave of nostalgia that's brought back the Mini, the Fiat 500 and old-school muscle cars like the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger is lapping at Porsche, which could bring back the 914 and is considering the return of four-cylinder engines.
It's no secret that Volkswagen is bringing a small mid-engined two-seater to the Los Angeles auto show in November, and with Walter de'Silva designing it, it's sure to be a stunner. What's interesting is it seems Porsche is interested in the project, raising the possibility of the 914's return as early as 2011.
Couple that with the report that Porsche is ready to bring back four-cylinder engines should it need help meeting tightening environmental mandates and it appears that old Porsches may be new again. Although nothing's been finalized, a four-banger is a natural for the reborn 914.
These fuel-efficient, enviro-conscious times have forced automakers, and their marketing departments, to come up with new selling points. With gas just shy of four bucks a gallon and CAFE standards (not to mention Europe's emissions rules) only getting stricter, how much longer can automakers crow about massive engines and high horsepower? Oh sure, the automakers are still cranking out high-power sports cars and even the Cadillac CTS-V produces 550 horsepower. But take a closer look at the product pipeline and you'll see automakers increasing performance by reducing bulk, an approach Colin Chapman espoused with great results.
VW's taken that approach to the mid-engined concept we'll see in Los Angeles. Although it has rolled out some cool one-offs, from the One-Liter car with triple-digit fuel economy to the sweet diesel-electric hybrid Golf we saw earlier this year, this one's actually feasible. According to Motor Trend, VW's engineers are raiding the company parts bin to keep costs down. Look for styling influenced by the EcoRacer concept and a chassis developed by Audi. Such a car, if built, would aspire to the sharp handling of the Lotus Elise but for a lot less coin.
As Motor Trend notes, Porsche's controlling stake in VW doesn't make it crazy to think it will get in on the action and bring back the 914, a car born of a similar collaboration between the two companies. What's more, VW Group chairman Dr. Ferdinand Piech was the shepherd who led the original 914 to production. Like the original, which Porsche built from 1969 until 1976, the updated model would be an entry-level model, slotting in below the Boxster. While the VW would probably get the 1.4L Twincharger engine, the Porsche would probably use the Boxster's 2.7-liter six-cylinder mill.
Unless, of course, Porsche starts lopping cylinders off its six-cylinder powerplants, something Australia's Drive magazine says the company is prepared to do if gas prices surge again or bureaucrats further tighten fuel economy or emissions rules. Porsche's man in charge of engines, Thomas Krickelberg, recently told reporters Down Under the new line of boxer sixes was engineered to easily be converted to four-bangers.
"(There are) the discussions about global warming and the need to reduce fuel consumption," he said. "The target was to have a six-cylinder because that is the criteria of the 911 and the Boxster. But there is still the option to reduce the number of cylinders.”
Although there are no immediate plans to bring back four-cylinder cars, Krickelberg did say "if there's a strong need to do it, we'll have to think about it." A resurrected 914 would be the natural place for such an engine. While it's at it, Porsche could put one in an entry-level 911, thereby resurrecting the 912. But what we'd really like to see is a 904 or 550 Spyder revival.
Photo by Flickr user atlasphere.
