Mar 28, 20212 min read

How Does a Porsche 914 1.8 Sell for the Same Price as a Porsche 914-6?

At the recent Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2021 Auction, the sale of a 1974 Porsche 914 1.8-liter sent the 914 faithful into a frenzy with a high sale price of $85,800. At the same auction, a 1970 Porsche 914-6 sold for nearly the same price at $88,000. How can this be?

Porsche 914 for sale — 1970 Porsche 914-6 (top), 1974 Porsche 914 1.8 (bottom) | Barrett-Jackson

The only answer as to how both Porsche 914’s sold for the same price is to say the 914 1.8 was being sold at the right venue where the right buyers. Barrett-Jackson buyers tend to appreciate modified “go-fast-looking cars” over the collecting aspect.

The Porsche 1.8-liter was a highly modified 914 with steel fender flares, an orange plaid interior to match the Lunar Orange exterior with a reported highly modified 1.8-liter engine. This car looked fast and will show well at the local Cars & Coffee. The seller did amazingly well as this should have been a $20,000 914 at best.

The real 914-6 at the same auction sold for nearly the same money at $88,000. This is a highly collectible 914 and sold for the going price based on condition. Normally this car would have sold for three or four times the price of the 1.8-liter 914. The 914-6 had an older restoration with slight modifications, such as the MOMO steering wheel. The transmission was also questionable as it was reported to have a six-speed manual. A six-speed was not offered with a 914-6 so it was either a misprint or represents a modification that would hurt collectibility. Studying the interior photos, it is hard to see the top of the shift know to see whether the pattern is the correct 5-speed.

So the 914-6 sold for proper money while the ’74 1.8-liter sold for high money. The only answer is that there were two buyers looking for a highly Porsche 914 that had all the performance-looking modifications without worrying about collectibility.

1974 Porsche 914 1.8-liter Modified