The Driving Experience: X1/9 vs 914?

914 vs X1/9

Having owned, autocrossed, modified, and generally flogged both I guess I'll chime in here. The X1/9 in my opinion is the superior car in most all ways....

The 914 felt much more "antique" than an X1/9 does, and not in a good way. Maybe it's the torsion bar suspension, maybe it's the sound of the VW bus engine, maybe something else. They were designed a couple/few years earlier than the X1/9 and use somewhat more dated technology especially compared with a mid-late 80's X1/9.

The 914 seems larger and heavier. Maybe the numbers would back me up on this, maybe not. But it doesn't translate to a more comfortable cabin, or even more cargo room despite the lack of a radiator. The rear trunk is very shallow to accommodate the transmission pointing straight backward.

The 914 seemed to have less character, less personality, less "magic". It was less fun to drive, and less reliable in my experience.

That being said, I don't hate 914's, far from it. They just don't compare favorably to an X1/9.
 
They appear similar on paper beyond that the two could not be any more different.

Porsche 914's chassis and suspension is no where near as good as the exxe:

*Front use torsion bars. This results in a compact spring for the front suspension and easy ride height adjustment by moving the splines around the spline socket, adjusting corner weight with any degree of accuracy and usefulness is limited. Beyond this, limits on effective spring rate is severe.

*Front suspension geometry is just nothing special.

*Rear suspension uses a trailing arm. This works good over bumps, but lacks sufficient rigidity under forces generated under cornering loads. The entire trailing arm and related bushings and such will flex depending on cornering load causing less than predictable geometry.

*Rear has cil springs, but trying to corner weight adjust the rear is not going to be simple.

*Gear shifter on the 914's transaxle (901) is extremely iffy due to the lack of a shift pattern reference-centering spring. This means the driver needs to "fish around" to find gears by feel.

*Starters die when temperatures get hot. This is a problem shared with the 911 of similar vintage as they shared starter motors.

*Most notable is the magnesium transaxle and engine case. Porsche put the battery directly above the fuel injection metering pump. Corrosive battery gooo drips on the fuel injection hoses eventually causing fuel leak.
Fuel under pressure now sprays on the hot magnesium power train parts resulting in a magnesium fire.. very difficult to put out. Many 914's were lost to fire in this way including a co-worker from years ago when this precise scenario happened and all everyone could do including the fire department was watch this 914 magnesium fire burn to the pavement.

One more notable, according to a fellow who restores 914's, they have a serious internal rust problem that is not visible. Water runs down the side of the body into un-seen places causing rust and mayhem over time. While the exterior body may appear perfect, the interior is in serious danger of failure. This same 914 fellow told me to check this by fitment and door closure. If there is any sag to the door or misalignment have the body checked very carefully by a 914 body specialist that is knowledgeable of this problem. The fix is serious and not easy to do.


Driven a 914 many years ago. Memory says, it feels bigger, clunkier, less responsive compared to the exxe. Forward visibility is not as good IMO.

There has been a number of Porsche 914's run at LeMons over the years, none has faired too well. Problems from rear trailing arm failures, engine failures (this has resulted in more than few engine swapped 914 LeMons race cars), transaxle failures and more has kept the 914 from being a reasonable LeMons car. Adding to this, cost of quality Porsche parts is not low. Example, the 1st gear slider in the gear box cost $400-$500 new OEM. compare that to about $100 for the same part in a Fiat transaxle.

As for the Porsche 901 transaxle, it has been the least reliable and most problem part in the rotary powered exxe LeMOns car. One gear box last about one weekend of LeMons racing before something needs work or replacement. This is the same basic box used in the Porsche 911.



Bernice
 
Fiat X 1/9 versus Porsche 914

Ciao amici,

In september we had a great article in Autoweek Classics, two of our clubmembers presented their Fiat X 1/9 Serie Speciale and Porsche 914
The owner of the Porsche also owns an X 1/9 1300 and Bertone 1500



saluti,

Henk Martens
 
Me... Only once and only one 914...

I'm unsure of the year but this 914 was converted from FI to twin Webers which looked and sounded HOT for VW/Porsche engine. It also LOOKED awesome with aftermarket wheels and tires and was ALL Black on Black in Black...

The ride was as if I was in a Go-Kart with NO suspension but the handling was as if I was in an old '39 Chevy Sedan. Performance in acceleration was better done with a calendar than a stop-watch, or a clock for that matter.



It was a calamity of feelings and the senses... I looked IN the car, and I looked AT the car when I got OUTSIDE... and comparing them to what I FELT and HEARD and SAW and what my butt TOLD me, nothing seemed to fit!

It is no wonder why the Porsche community tends NOT to recognize this car... like an "orphan..." and kinda like our beloved X1/9.

I could go on for hours, but every time I see a 914 I remember our old friend "Howard" who patched up relations between our loose group of weirdos and his organized group of over-the-top party-ers after one of their rogue members crashed this site and wreaked havoc.
2Q==



He offered to meet up with him and his guys at a Cars and Coffee event and it was a thrill to meet with them. Here he affixed his club logo to my back window so I would feel I "belonged..."



The Orange 914 behind mine had an engine combo similar to this...



... and there were some some 2.8 (?) Liter Flat Sixes as well. I woulda loved to take a ride in one of those... and hopefully they found a way to upgrade the handling. I fear there would be NO help in feeling like you were sitting on the floor pan of a Go-Kart though!

Sadly, Howard passed away a few months after this event... so ends another chapter.

My 10 cents worth...
 
I know what my choice is

The X... on looks alone. I had a school chum who bought a new '72 914 and I had a chance to drive it. At the time I had nothing to compare it to, as - with the exception of my cousin's MG Midget, which I drove for a couple of days in the Utah snow during Christmas holidays of '68 and my parent's '69 VW - I'd always driven Detroit cars ('64 GTO, '68 Falcon, '68 Nova). My memories of the 914 were of a fairly roomy cab and a driving position that felt strange to me.

After I bought my '74 X in June of that year, I do remember one of the Big 3 car mags doing a comparison between the two cars in the Fall of '74 (I think)... the X compared favorably (their choice for drivetrain and handling) and the 914 got the nod for build quality, if my idiot savant memory serves me correctly. I've looked for a copy of that car mag with no success.
 
Would be interesting to me to go to a 914 forum and ask the same question.



Dan the X1/9 is superior and when the Fiat was released if it had ~110 Hp there would be no contest in the minds of the great unwashed, but I can't offer a direct opinion of how well the flat four drives. I have never been in a moving one but I like the funky (are they retro yet) look, desire stops there though as comments above about the VW Bus driveline are correct. In a VW bus I can tell you the VW unit is strong and dependable, not up to a sports car standard I hear. But the question about the "driving experince" is a bit more than how well a car handles. I have a few 914 parts in the camper and they are mostly stamped VW ( despite the Porche origin ). There are plenty of myths that swirl around the 914, one goodie is that one of Porsche's designers, Heinrich Klie, the designer of the iconic five-lug Fuchs wheel, did the majority of the aesthetic work on the 914. The rear suspension isn't truely shared with any other car whilst the swing arm rear is VW like its a little different. Bernices comments are spot on though the lateral control in the rear is not on par with the X1/9. The front suspension is pulled from the 911, the woeful ( for a sports car ) 5-speed transmission, though it may have VW emblems stamped on the case, is almost the same unit used in 1960s and early '70s 911s. Its like stiring porridge, but a lot of cars from this era are similar in their vaugeness. Biggest useless factiod: Ferdinand Piëch was in charge of the 914 program, at the same time he was spearheading the development of the 917.

Truth be told it was always going to be an orphan from the day it was concieved as Porsche needed an entry-level car that was cheaper to manafacture than the 912 (which is essentially a 911 with a 356 engine). Volkswagen itself needed a replacement for its Karmann Ghia and was therefore an enthusiastic colaborator. What resulted wasn't a total failure, but the Karmann-built bodies wound up being far more expensive than even Porsche allowed for, making the end result pricier than hoped. The corrosion problems are no suprise given the handbuilt nature and the era it came from. Really corrosion control wasn't a "thing' until the early 1980's.

You guys always think of them as a Porche but the reality is that in Europe they were sold as the Volkswagen-Porsche, the four-cylinder cars were built entirely at Karmann and carried Volkswagen's Type 4 engine behind the seats (yes that VW Bus one - darn good aircooled engine). Six-cylinder models featured a nutered variant of the 2.0-liter flat-six, ran five-lug Fuchs wheels, and were assembled in Zuffenhausen. Regardless of where they were made, the VW shadow hung over all the 914s, keeping its value depressed among smug Porsche-philes at least until the recent explosion in everything air-cooled. The values of 912s have gone nuts, as time goes on so too I feel will the 914 go stratosheric, just because of the badge - not because it is accomplished as a sports car. If you argue that it was built at Karmann and so not a Porche it might be good to remind folks that the Boxster and Cayman were constructed at Valmet in Finland? The 914 was much more Porsche than Volkswagen. It's certainly more Porsche than a Macan or a Cayenne, and at least as much a Porsche as a Panamera. Is it a black sheep? Yes. Have a long look at it, little family design cues and its sorta weird-looking. Is it a Porsche though? Very much so.

Despite Porsche's lackluster support for a 914's racing program, the mid-engined targa managed to win the GTS class in the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans, placing sixth overall in a rainy war of attrition that saw chaos with more than half the field failing to finish. Perhaps more impressively, 914s finished 1-2-3 at that year's grueling 86-hour Marathon de la Route at the Nürburgring.

I like to remind folks that in the ass of my old VW camper is that 2 Ltr that was massaged by Hans Mezger, most buffoons have no idea who he is. Hint TAG-Turbo was his baby, last time I read anytying re F1 and Porche ( Red Bulls search for a new engine) he was still alive and if he still is he would be 86 this year. The growth in a wider audience comming to 'classic cars' is a direct proportion to the rise of modern white box machines that are soulless and neutral, econoboxes are fit for purpose but the human experince is yearning for that connection to contol the machine and the feeling as if you are part of it. Not something a lot of cars now embrace. Even the supercars are taking you out of the equation and you have to provide input thru a computer and the onboard management systems will decide if they will let you do what you want. Hence Ferrari paddleshift and engine ECUs decide what happens not the driver and a client who sold his Lambo went back to an older and just as expensive late 70's Italian 'exotic' for that reason. To parra phrase what he said when I quized WFT why did he do that? "I can't drive the Lambo anywhere at speeds it is capable of except the rare occasion on a track and on the street everyone "hates me". The classic I can drive any day even in traffic and people let me in and give me the thumbs up or a wave. That I enjoy the old sounds and envolvement I get when I take it out is why I recomend the 'downgrade' to everyone. The old girl makes me smile"

Now that driverless cars on the horizion and humans are being further removed. The 912 that was once derrided as the poor mans Porche that was once unappreciated and that has turned around. Not becasue it is a great machine from a 'sports car' benchmark but because it takes those that are 'car people' back to a time when knowing HOW to drive the machine that was a little (or a lot) less than perfect was a rewarding experience that you enjoyed. There will always be the case for a commuter car wether a human drives it or not, but I watch the numbers of people who now have a 'weekend' car in addition to the slushbox family car and their numbers are on the rise. A lot know little about the mechanical skills needed to keep one alive but they all share a yearning to enjoy the viceral emotions that a old classic car provides.

The Fiat brand is unloved by the average Joe and the badge from Stuttgart admired so character is part of that subjective opinion. When all the 912's dry up the 914 will be priced accordingly. It's the same odd affection I can never empathise with when people rave about the old 911's which share some mechanicals as the 914. If it is a question of which one will make you money owning a Fiat has you barking up the wrong tree. If the Porche 914 is in good condition from a sheet metal perspective just buy it and attend to the mechanicals, I can see a time when the 914 is no longer derrided by the anorack wearing Porche snobs who really have little idea and 914s are recognosed as a worthy part of Porches history.

A lot of folks get the rose colured glasses on when talking their cars badgework I would be interested in how much the Stuttagrt crowd would know about an X1/9 as its almost invisable to the average punter. If the pep' out of the aircolled motor isnt enough SCAT makes a heap of bits that can see you take out the 914s original motor, crate it, and build an aftermarket monster. The folks on the VW/914 boards will no doubt know what/where/how.
 
Owned both, still own 2 X1/9s

I bought the 74 2.0 Porsche 914, that was modified to a 2.2 per previous owner,while I had an Alfa spider and a 72 124 spider. The 914 handled better than the Fiat and even with the Alfa. The Porsche seats were not comfortable. You could not change the angle of the back of the seat to the base. You could tilt the seat, but you tilted the base at the same time.

I owned the 914 for 5 years and really enjoyed the acceleration and handling. I might still own this car if it was not for the cost of parts. Small things like sunvisors were 3 to 6 times the cost of Fiat parts. Alfa parts are cheap compared to 914 parts.

I have nothing bad to say about the 914 handling or power.
 
Will need to define the meaning of "Handling".

Straight line acceleration is not too difficult to define and quantify, handling... is not and it means different things to different drivers.


Bernice
 
Handling;

The ability to go into a corner hard on the road or an autocross and come out where I want it to.

The Porsche 914 was very predictable. The rear followed the line and rarely went out. The X1/9 can side out the rear end in hard cornering on the throttle. The difference might be the width of the 914. The 914 is wider than an X1/9 and felt more stable in hard turns.
 
By description, this 914 has inherent understeer if the rear rarely, "came out." Varying degrees of understeer conveys to the driver a sense of stability. This is not bad or good, it is a safe default chassis-suspension tuning choice for all production cars as if the vehicle runs wide in a turn as cornering forces increase, the natural reaction is to increase steering wheel angle... except a chassis-suspension that has inherent understeer does not produce the best track lap times. On a road car it is more often than not, desirable given the many variables that road cars can face (rain, snow, ice, rough roads, and a lot more). How much understeer for a given chassis-suspension can be adjusted-tuned and dialed in to varying degrees.

If the chassis-suspension had inherent oversteer, often means the typical driver will end up off the road in a less than good place. But, a chassis-suspension can be driven to it's adhesion limit with better potential track lap times than a chassis-suspension with inherent understeer at or near it's limit. To achieve this depends a LOT on driver skill and ability.

There is a LOT more than steering input alone to alter the vehicle's direction. Throttle-brakes used to shift weight near the limit of traction can be as or more effective to alter the direction of the vehicle than steering alone. Steering can be used initially used to cause the weigh shift to change vehicle direction with throttle-brakes used to shift weigh increasing the ability to control where the vehicle ends up. Then there is the rear brake lever common to many rally cars today used to essentially lock up rear wheels to force a oversteer condition with weight shift to alter the direction of the chassis-suspension-vehicle.

To do this well, the chassis-suspension needs to have it's CG at the lower back of the driver, near equal weight chassis distribution (where the weight is located has a STRONG effect on how responsive the chassis will be to shifting weight), throttle response, brake balance, steering feel, grip of the tires and much more.

This is one of my fave driver videos, Senna driving a Honda NSX with his foot work in a corner view. Note how Senna uses both throttle-brake-steering to control the NSX's chassis-suspension and his track lines:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8By2AEsGAhU

Jean Ragnotti parking a Renault R5 turbo using power-over steer weight shift, steering and brakes to park this R5 turbo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZWeue-NPhY

If the vehicle uses aerodynamics trading off power train output for down force, the chassis-suspension dynamics become more complex.

Ultimate grip for mechanical grip chassis-suspension are mostly tire limited and it is up to the chassis-suspension to keep the tires in their happiest operating conditions.

If the rear of the exxe is sliding out under full power coming out of a corner, this is a chassis set up trait that can be cured with chassis set up and tuning. Both the 914 and exxe can be set up to varying degrees to the meet driver's requirements.

The 914 has a lot more inherent chassis-suspension limitations that restrict what is possible compared to the exxe. Limiting options can be good for those who don't want to or fully understand the complexities, difficulties and fine tune differences of what a really good chassis can do.

The great hidden feature of the exxe is it's chassis-suspension design. It can be set up in many, many ways to meet the driver's needs. The vast majority of production road vehicles built to this day have varying degrees of limitations not found in the exxe. To achieve what is possible in the exxe chassis-suspension is expensive, time consuming requiring a LOT of resources and a really, really GOOD test driver on the best tires & wheels for the expected road types and conditions.

The whole topic of "good handling" is extremely broad, complex and often based on a driver's experience as their point of reference. What is excellent handling for one driver could be beyond awful for another. This is why there is no ideal chassis-suspension set up for all possible vehicles and the conditions of which they operate on.

Compare this to raw power train output with traction in a straight line used to produce zero to spec numbers proven so very effective for marketing of what is considered performance cars.


Bernice


Handling;

The ability to go into a corner hard on the road or an autocross and come out where I want it to.

The Porsche 914 was very predictable. The rear followed the line and rarely went out. The X1/9 can side out the rear end in hard cornering on the throttle. The difference might be the width of the 914. The 914 is wider than an X1/9 and felt more stable in hard turns.
 
Last edited:
Short Story

Back in '76, a co-worker had a 914 2.0 and I had my '75 X. After much bragging in front of co-workers, one suggested we swap cars for a week-end.
We did.
I liked the 914, but I thought it was like most German cars...a well thought out machine (I mean no offense to German car owners).
I bought another X in '79.
He liked the X, and two years later (after he left the company), he bought one.
Of course, the 914 was out of production by then, but I consider that a win. :)
 
Sorry no short stories here

+1 What Bernice said

Dynamic balance, throttle steering is easily achieved in the X1/9 - if you have enough torque and a good right foot. I can only testify that when you have enough power to regularly eat at least two sets of rears to a set of fronts you will know the X1/9 is a very capable chassis, its why I keep banging on about LSDs.

There is a darn good reason why the rear engine Porches have this understeer built into their chassis. They are tail happy and once they rotate it’s usually all over, only the best can powerslide a 912,914 or early 911. The intentional layout flip of the engine to the front/gearbox rear in the 914 IMHO makes it a better sports car than the older 912 but "then the fight started" and arguments about the precious '911 dynamics' surface. That the 'tuna boat' flat four isn't a rev happy motor strikes it out as a sports car for me, when it lets go keeping the power on often has it running out of revs and changing gear mid corner it only exacerbates the lift off oversteer rotation. Which in a front wheel drive 205GTi is a bonus as you can get the tail out and punch the engine to 8k RPM in mine, with an LSD it goes where you point it, so getting the thing to point tighter into an corner sometimes oversteer is a handy tool to get there, but only if the chassis behaves predictibly. Early rear engined Porches are predictable in that the rear end will 'leave' ahead of the front end.

The pedestrian Porches 'leave' like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLCLS5LqKxI

The Maxi in the hands of Jeannot was marvellous to watch during the pinicle of the WRC Grp4 era. Kind of cheating though as I can testify having driven the 'pedestrian version' with the Sierra engine powertrain in the R5s rear, with a lot of rear weight bias it’s easy to flick, still great car control from the French master all the same.

Senna, a driving God. RIP
If you hadn't seen it find a copy of Asif Kapadias 2010 film on the Brazilian master. Its just titled with a single word that says volumes, "Senna"


Few men I know of have faster feet than Senna had and that was F1 on dirt, Ari Vatanen, Mika Hakkinen & Walter Röhrl are in that alumni. I tried the rally thing but I was absolute rubbish, the car control in the following clip on dirt may help illustrate loading the front to turn in with a 'Scandinavian flick'. The pendulum turn (whilst different from a handbrake turn or lift off oversteer) can be safely done in an X1/9 partly due to its low CG but the good lateral control in the suspension makes it predictable. The 914 I can't say I would be confident to try with the amount of flex in the rear ends hardware.

Walter Röhrl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyVHj3sHVHQ


If the F1 driver Kvyat in the 3rd sector of lap 43 at the last round in US had remembered how to 'rotate' the car with the throttle rather than just stamping on the brakes and skidding, it was already at full lock, he would not have hit the wall and been able to finish the race. The safety car would not have come out and perhaps the 10 second lead Hamilton’s team mate had would have kept the championship alive, nope all over now and season is fait accompli. I know that is easy to say sitting the lounge chair but that split second decision is the difference between good and great. The guys in MotoGP1 know the value of practicing on loose surfaces and regularly get time on a dirt bike to hone that skill. Perhaps that is why the racing in the motorbike MotoGP world series is far more interesting than the four wheel variety in F1 where it’s a lot of simulator time and too many darn computers.

The vast majority have no idea about car control and a loose setup, every time a manufacturer makes a car that has an inherent loose suspension package their customers end up in the weeds so they are a rare product.

Ari saving a 'loose' with slippery conditions, watch for the cattle grid at 2:00 - this guys was and still is great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l19F2YPVey0


Nice post BTW Bernice

I would love to see you do a series on setting up an X 1/9 suspension with say Stock for the commuter X 1/9 ( conservative), Wider and taller tyres with a mild SOHC engine (195/15's mild) and the $$$/parts required for a loose suspension character taking advantage of a +150 Hp SOHC( wild).
 
I currently own both

I love my 914. I love my X1/9. the 914 is a 2.0 with headers cam and Webbers the X is a1300 with an Ansa header. THE 914 makes more torque but the X revs much free-er and farther...funner... the 914 has front and rear bars and an lds, the fiat has no bars and an open diff. The 914 is lowered, the X isn't. You have to "learn ' to shift the 914. The X you shift like a master from the get go. I am an above average wheel man and can get the most out of both of these rigs. BUT THE TIGHTER THE COURSE, THE MORE LIKELY THE STOCKISH X1/9 WOULD GET A BETTER TIME THAN MY SOMEWHAT MODIFIED 914. Again the 914 is an ausome and fun car that I enjoy very much, I'm just answering your question truthfully.
 
Our good friend Gilles her bought a Caymen...

a few years back and drove it to one of out get-togethers.

After about 100 drinks (50 each) he insists that OI drive is new car and tell him what I think. I finally give in and I drive a few blocks to Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and accelerate. (PCH is where rich kids crash their Lambos and Enzos at 150 mph)

I stir the stick quickly, but short shift it into third and now Gilles is telling me to stretch its legs!

I said "Gilles, I'm doing 110 mph in 3rd and we're legally drunk... I'm going back to the party!" Now is says "So what do you think, what do your think..."

I said I think that this car is probably the most comfortable and precise car I have ever driven. I even fit well into its cockpit. What I am impressed with is I had to "learn" nothing to drive it anyway I wanted. It appeared as though I just THOUGHT that I should GO or TURN or STOP and the car just did it and did it correctly.

And HIS words to me were... "But it [just] doesn't have the SOUL of a FIAT..." relating to his own X1/9...

I was completely shocked by those words and when I turned to see if he was joking with me, he just said it again.

And I agree!
 
I wonder about daily driver comparisons. I really appreciate mine as a daily driver, the two trunks and targa, cabin comfort; seats. I'd think the 914 would be similar but perhaps slightly worse in those areas?
 
This is the bane of modern cars in general.They do nothing to "harm" the driver and the car does all it can to prevent harm to the driver by electronic means, passive safety means and a host of other techno nannies.

This is a result of government regulations and car brands fear of being SUED for liability of their car causing harm to the driver or occupants.

This is why the modern car has become plain vanilla transportation appliance in most every way imaginable. It is what most of the motoring public wants, expects and mandated by government regulations with considerations to legal liabilities.

Facts are, the majority of drivers will NEVER-EVER reach the performance limits of most any road car. Only serious car folks who take their ride out to a track or similar sporting event can approach the vehicles upper performance envelop. This is my believe that all these advertised performance number are pure marketing BS used to sell cars and puffed up bragging rights of their ride and association with a race winning brand identity. Sure, there are those who take their HP ride o the limit on public roads with more often than not really, really really bad results.

Manufactures knowing this well, add the leather, gold kit and race winning social status icon as effective marketing tools. Add to this using the car media as a promotion tool goes a very long ways to selling cars at significant profit complete with long term brand identity and market desirability.

Harsh truth and reality is, the Porsche 914 is and has become desirable strictly due to the Porsche brand identity and not based on content, actual engineering and potential performance designed and baked into the 914.

As for the comment that one must learn how to shift that Porsche 901 gear box, that is utter BS. Why should a defective and ergonomically mal-formed design be glorified to forcing a driver to conform to it's design problems? Why is this serious design defect even allowed or accepted by Porsche 914 drivers? At one of the LeMons races we had the staff/drivers from Easy Porsche try out the completely designed-built from scratch Porsche 901 gear box shifter, they LOVED, admired it in every way and wanted one for their LeMons 914. This is much the same reaction from all who have been exposed to this Porsche 901 shifter.
http://www.easypor.com

This is so arrogantly German in too many ways. Story goes, when Mark Donahue was testing driving the Porsche 917-10 at the Porsche test track
after a few laps Donahue shared some nasty words about the 917-10's chassis dynamics and overall performance with the Porsche engineers... the Porsche engineers were completely taken aback by these comments by Donahue as they were so accustomed to instructing the drivers how to driver their design even when the Porsche engineers had no real racing experience. This was the German way, and how Porsche engineers designed, built and raced their Porsche race cars. Mark Donahue forever changed that as he dictated what the chassis dynamics must be, power to weight driver position, feel of the controls and a LOT more. The results of this collaboration and effort was the Porsche 917-30, one of Porsche's finest endurance road race cars.

If not for Mark Donahue and Rodger Penske Porsche would remain a no-body in the North American sports car market.

This is pretty much my opinion of Porsche cars to this day and remains as such. They have done a great job a providing the market with a luxury item with matching social status built on stamped sheet metal mass car production technology as a highly profitable product.

Oh, as for anti-roll bars on the 914 or other, they are just another chassis tuning device-tool to be used as required to achieve a design and performance goal. Nothing more, nothing less.


Bernice










a few years back and drove it to one of out get-togethers.

I said "Gilles, I'm doing 110 mph in 3rd and we're legally drunk... I'm going back to the party!" Now is says "So what do you think, what do your think..."

I said I think that this car is probably the most comfortable and precise car I have ever driven. I even fit well into its cockpit. What I am impressed with is I had to "learn" nothing to drive it anyway I wanted. It appeared as though I just THOUGHT that I should GO or TURN or STOP and the car just did it and did it correctly.

And HIS words to me were... "But it [just] doesn't have the SOUL of a FIAT..." relating to his own X1/9...

I was completely shocked by those words and when I turned to see if he was joking with me, he just said it again.

And I agree!
 
Back
Top