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The 914 is the greatest car of the era when compared to others of the same price range. Even today it's a great car for a great price. The 1.7L h4 with twin carbs can outrun any 2.0L from other manufacturers from any era. The 2.0L h4 can outrun even v8s after proper overhauling to increase displacement, and that's without a turbo or super. And all this is possible while getting 25+ mpg. The top speed of my 1.7L is 120 mph compared to the stock 110 mph limit. After i get my Raby 2270cc 2.0L h4 (YouTube - Porsche 914 with new Raby motor) i'll have a top speed higher than the 150 mph speedo and an acceleration that rivals Lotus's Elise. Once again this car is definitely not slow and definitely not a mistake for porsche.
Could outrun any 2.0L from other manufacturers from any era? Really now.
It's not slow -- that is, once you modify it to make it not slow. Which can be said of any car.
As for best car in its price range in its era... I think that nod would have to go to the 240Z, which could handily outrun it, give it a good challenge in the twisties, and was a much more solid car overall. In fact the Z was a closer competitor to the 911, but at a 914 price.
I am mixed on the 914. Racing versions of the 914-6 were pretty cool, but teh standard car never really appealed too much to me. I did setup an article forr an interesting widebody 914 a couple years back in Sport Compact Car. It has a Subaru WRX engine swap taking away many of the performance issues. Pretty cool little car.
I have personally watched my dad's friend, Bobby, drag race his overhauled 2.0L vw beetle and get lower 4s in the quarter mile. Idr the actual cc's but i'm 100% sure it was a 2.0L h4. It was kinda cool looking lowered with the chopped top, and it was a deep purple color that was covered in sponsor stickers.
Heh. I've seen some pretty quick Beetles but I don't know that I've ever seen one that could do 14s, at least not without turbo or nitrous. But I know those engines can make a lot more power than they came with stock so maybe there are some 14-second all-motor Beetles out there.
I wonder how much power the 2.0 can be tuned to make (without turbo or nitrous) for drag purposes. It helps that it has a light car to push.
NOS does work with dual carbs on a VW. I had the set up on my dragster but was not fast enough(besides being hard on the bottom end). Went thru rod bearings real quick and having to resize the rods after a meet. My rail was a licensed NHRA legal 9.99 index so do have the experience and knowledge.
Look at a Hot VW Magazine to see some FAST bugs and open the eyes as to the power and some LOW 1/4 mile ET's.
You won't see any 1,7,1,8,2.0L motors out there racing to what a earlier poster claims as to speed.
I have personally watched my dad's friend, Bobby, drag race his overhauled 2.0L vw beetle and get lower 4s in the quarter mile. Idr the actual cc's but i'm 100% sure it was a 2.0L h4. It was kinda cool looking lowered with the chopped top, and it was a deep purple color that was covered in sponsor stickers.
sorry i typed this when i was half asleep.. i meant to put 10s.. idk where the 4 came from..
btw so you people know the 914 was in fact designed to be underpowered from stock. The reason for this was that it had superior handling compared to the 911 and if it were to be equipped with a 911 engine it would outperform the 911. With better handling and a lighter curb weight it would take over the 911's spot as Porsche #1 production car. This caused a huge stir in the Porsche community (especially with the introduction of the 916 model) and eventually led to it's downfall.
btw so you people know the 914 was in fact designed to be underpowered from stock. The reason for this was that it had superior handling compared to the 911 and if it were to be equipped with a 911 engine it would outperform the 911. With better handling and a lighter curb weight it would take over the 911's spot as Porsche #1 production car. This caused a huge stir in the Porsche community (especially with the introduction of the 916 model) and eventually led to it's downfall.
Faster car does not necessarily mean better car.. I mean, the seats were stapled in. You just don't do that in a production model.
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