Porsche 914/6 GT

Raced in-house by Porsche System Engineering and sold as a customer car through Werk 1 to the best international racing teams (Max Moritz, Sonauto, Strähle Autosport, and Brumos), the 914/6 GT received a long list of upgrades and bespoke racing parts for various racing classes. The chassis was lowered, featured competition shock absorbers and body reinforcements for all manner of endurance racing and rally events, including the 84 Hours of the Nürburgring (Marathon de la Route), the Targa Florio, 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Rallye Monte Carlo. Additional chassis modifications included larger brake calipers and rotors, long-stud wheel hubs with spacers, and wider wheels fitted with racing tires. The body was widened with steel fender flares and lightened with the addition of fiberglass racing parts including the front and rear hoods.

The GT featured a simplified interior, a larger air intake grill, front bumper oil cooler cutout, and a standard 100 liter fuel tank. A special motorsport engine was fitted (Type 901/25) and modifications included hard-chromed racing pistons, cylinder heads with polished intake and exhaust ports, Weber 46 IDA carburetors, dual ignition, racing camshafts, a special exhaust system and a competition clutch. All told, Werks engine performance improved to an impressive 220 horsepower at a lofty 8,000 rpm. Finally, Porsche’s racing gearbox featured a limited-slip differential and a main shaft with five forward gears – all interchangeable depending on the racetrack or rally course. What Porsche produced for international Group 4 GT racing and rallies was a revelation. Just as quick through the infield at Daytona as it was on the snowy corniche overlooking the Mediterranean, the Porsche 914/6 GT was an immediate success, winning its class and finishing sixth overall at the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Project No. 914/58 “S-Y 7716”
1971 Rallye Monte Carlo

After a hat trick of Rallye Monte Carlo victories, each in a 911, Porsche would seek to further develop the 914/6 GT for 1971 by preparing and fielding three of their mid-engined GT racecars for the rally. Each of the three factory-prepped 914/6 GTs featured a sequential chassis number (139, 140, 141), a sequential internal project number (914/56, 914/57, 914/58), and all three were finished in Signal Orange. They were built to international FIA Group 4 rules with special factory rally modifications. With preparation in full swing for rallying’s marquee event, Porsche did not skip on the driving talent, hiring Björn Waldegård, Åke Andersson, and Gérard Larrousse respectively for each car. Each car needed road registration to compete in the rally and Larrousse’s 914/6 GT, the car on offer, received Stuttgart license plate “S-Y 7716.” To earn additional points in the rally, competitors could elect to begin from fields afar and the three factory entries would drive to the event start from Warsaw, Poland, as noted by the Varsovie decals adorning the doors. While Larrousse and his co-driver Jean-Claude Perramond would receive start number 1, it came without luck. Without winter weather for years, feet of snow fell during the event and with it, a slate of retirements followed with almost 90 percent of the field out before the finish. Yet, it wasn’t the snow that retired Larrousse and Perramond. A broken clutch lever put paid to their efforts, one that was unable to be mended within the allotted 15-minute repair window. Returning to Stuttgart after its retirement, prior research indicates its odometer showed 8,683 kilometers or approximately 5,400 miles at that time.

Testing / Use by Vic Elford at the 1971 Targa Florio

As a notoriously thrifty racing outfit, Porsche quickly put the three returning Monte Carlo 914/6 GTs to good use. New engines were installed to test various developments and then chassis number 141 was lent to factory driver “Quick Vic” Elford as transportation to Targa Florio. It is said that he scheduled his trip to Sicily to coincide with the Monza 1000 kms where he was paired with none other than Gérard Larrousse in their Martini 917 K. Once he arrived at the Targa, the expectation was that the GT would be used as a reconnaissance or recce car by Elford who is widely considered the finest driver in the history of sports cars racing’s most evocative event. While Elford did not win the Targa Florio that year, as he had in 1968, he did set fastest lap, winning the Ignazio Giunti trophy, no doubt claimed in part by his time practicing behind the wheel of chassis number 141.

Return to Stuttgart / Walter Näher

After the Targa, chassis number 141 returned to Stuttgart with 15,240 kilometers, now immersed in its role in Heinz Bäuerle’s test department. Approximately two years later it was purchased by its first private owner, factory race engineer Walter Näher, beginning a 30-year long-term ownership. If anyone could appreciate the 914/6 GT, now with approximately 26,400 kilometers on its VDO odometer it would be Näher. With a background in mechanical engineering, he became part of the Porsche engineering team in 1969, dedicating his early years in Zuffenhausen working in road car development. He steadily rose through the ranks to become Stefan Bellof’s 956 race engineer and later joined Peter Sauber’s sports car and Formula One teams. Näher relayed to a previous owner of 141 that, throughout his ownership, he enjoyed the car regularly, yet never losing sight of its special provenance. It was during the later years of his ownership that he embarked on a restoration to return the car to its Rallye Monte Carlo condition.

Upon disassembly in 2002, it was noted that the car was in remarkable shape having avoided any serious incidents during its short racing career. It should also be mentioned that while owned by Porsche and Näher it was not fitted with additional racing upgrades in an attempt to stay competitive like many other racecars of the era. As a result of his lofty position within Porsche’s racing department, Näher had tremendous access to parts and personnel throughout the restoration, and as a result, the car was carefully rebuilt and properly restored with many of the rare components unique to the 914/6 GT. While chassis number 141 had its original engine removed by Porsche directly after the Rallye Monte Carlo, a correct Type 901/25 specification engine was rebuilt to the chassis’ 1971 Monte Carlo specification. After completing the restoration, Näher, the GT’s first private owner, parted ways with his longtime factory racecar in the mid-2000s.

Post Restoration / Jeff Zwart

During the early years of Näher’s ownership, the greater Porsche community may have viewed this 914/6 GT as an interesting factory creation, perhaps not much more than a useful club racer. In fact, Porsche scrapped one of the three 1971 Rallye Monte Carlo entries. The other was sold and later converted to Herbert Linge’s ONS safety car. By the time chassis number 141’s restoration was complete, the car would be viewed in a completely different light, preserved as the only factory 1971 Monte Carlo 914/6 GT correctly restored to “as raced” condition.

In August of 2010, 141 was acquired by noted racer, filmmaker, and Porsche collector Jeff Zwart. The car was truly at home with Zwart, a well-known and highly regarded 914 and rally aficionado. As part of an impressive collection of Porsche road and race cars, it would participate on-track at Rennsport Reunion IV where Zwart would reunite it with Walter Näher. Zwart recounts that such was the quality of Näher’s restoration, that once he acquired a pair of original 1971 Monte Carlo rally plates and tuned the carburation, he was more than satisfied. High praise from someone deeply immersed in the details. Furthermore, Zwart recalls attending a Sunday morning car show with Gérard Larrousse in attendance whereby the Frenchman was pleased to see his narrow fixed bucket seat, personally requested in 1971, remained in the car! These historic details were rewarded when 141 was shown by Zwart at the 2015 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, where he to took First in Class among a gaggle of incredible 914 road and race cars.

In August of 2019, Zwart passed chassis number 141 onto its newest caretaker. With its increased appreciation within collector cars circles, it would not become a static museum display piece, no matter how well deserved. In 2020, it returned to Europe to attend the second GP Ice Race, an event spearheaded by Ferdi Porsche, located at Zell am See, Austria – the spiritual home of the Porsche family. Photos of it throwing snow at the event recall the difficult conditions faced throughout the 1971 Rallye Monte Carlo. Most recently, the car was invited to the 2023 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in the special Porsche 75th Anniversary class, a true sign, if necessary, that this 914/6 GT had been elevated to the highest levels of collectable Porsche status.

George Orwell famously wrote that “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” This certainly rings true among Porsche 914/6 road and race cars. With factory Werkswagen origins, Rallye Monte Carlo and Targa Florio history, restoration at the hands of a Porsche factory race engineer, and open invitations to the finest concours and racing events, this 914/6 GT, chassis number 141, might just be the most equal of all.