What if…It’s always fun to imagine what would happen if you put a big engine in a small car. Except this time, Porsche took the idea to the experimental stage. Let’s find out what is the Porsche 914/8, also known as the Porsche 914 S.

Porsche 914

The Porsche 914 was born in the mid-1960s as a collaboration between Porsche and Volkswagen. Porsche wanted to increase sales and introduce a smaller sports car model to the market below the Porsche 911. VW, on the other hand, needed a successor to its ageing Karmann Ghia model. Porsche was responsible for the development of the car, but it utilised a lot of Volkswagen technology. The result was a sporty, two-seater, mid-engined sports car that was also suitable for everyday driving.

The Porsche 914, in Europe known as VW-Porsche 914, was launched in 1969 in two versions. The entry level model, powered by VW’s four-cylinder engine, was Porsche called 914/4. The more powerful version was Porsche 914/6, which had a six-cylinder engine borrowed from the Porsche 911.

What is the Porsche 914/8

But what is the Porsche 914/8. Let me give you a hint. The 914/4 had a four-cylinder engine, and the 914/6 had a six-cylinder engine. So the 914/8 was powered by a…
That’s right. The Porsche 914/8 had a 8-cylinder engine. And not just any 8-cylinder. It was a 3.0-litre racing engine borrowed from the Porsche 908. This mighty flat-eight, with help of injection system, produced around 300 PS. Think about it. Flat-eight racing engine in a lightweight, mid-engined, rear-wheel drive sports car. That must have been…thrilling, for lack of a better word.

Only Two Were Made

The car was insanely fast. Maybe a little too fast for its time. Even if the engine output would have been downsized, it would still have been much more powerful and faster than any of the 911s. The Porsche 914/8 would have been the hypercar of its time.

But only two cars were built. The first vehicle was handed over as a test vehicle to Ferdinand Piëch, who was Porsche’s head of development at the time. The second vehicle, which was a little less powerful, was a road-legal car that was handed over to Ferry Porsche to celebrate his 60th birthday. In the second vehicle, the eight-cylinder engine with carburettors achieved 260 PS, but was still capable of reaching a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph).

The Porsche 914/8 remained a unique concept car, but it is a great demonstration of Porsche’s willingness to push boundaries and experiment new things. And a bold demonstration that “what if ideas” are sometimes worth implementing.

Image by Porsche