All
four-cylinder U.S. specification Porsche®
914 automobiles came with "914" insignia on the rear of the car
(European specification and 914/6 models had different rear emblems
described on other pages accessible via the buttons on the left). While
the presence, style and dimensions of the "914" insigne remained
constant throughout production of the Porsche 914, the finish and material
used changed several times.
The
"914" badges are all exactly 110mm long by 20mm high. With the
exception of the insignia on the 1976 models, they are 3mm thick and
attached to the vehicles by two 10mm rear prongs that fit through holes in
the chassis and are subsequently secured via speed nuts. These prongs are
spaced 70mm center to center.
Four-cylinder
U.S. specification Porsche 914 automobiles produced for model
years 1970-1972 were equipped with gold-anodized
aluminum "914" rear emblems. This only other
exterior badging on these early 1.7L cars is the block
"P
O R S C H E" lettering on the engine grille in matching
gold-anodized aluminum.
P914
is currently offering an original gold-anodized
aluminum "914" rear emblem
for sale. Details are available in the SALES
section.
Apparently
gold was out of style in 1973, as the rear emblems on the early
to mid 1973 Porsche
914 models were black-anodized aluminum, and the
engine grille lettering was changed to chrome-silver
anodized aluminum. The introduction of a second engine size
(the 2.0L) resulted in the addition of a second rear emblem
(also in black-anodized aluminum) denoting the displacement
("1.7" or "2.0"). The black-anodizing,
however, varied in shade and tends to fade to a
purple-tinted gray or even a grayish-silver hue. Moreover,
the "914" and engine-size badges were anodized in
separately, so the two tend not to match. Such rear emblem
"set" color variation pictures are available on
the "1.7" and "2.0" badge pages.
P914
is currently offering an original black-anodized
aluminum "914" rear emblem
for sale. Details are available in the SALES
section.
Later
1973 Porsche 914 and some early 1974 Porsche 914
2.0L vehicles
(including some of the Limited Edition cars) came equipped with
black-painted aluminum badges. Note that these emblems are
painted semi-gloss black only on the front and edges; the rear of
the emblem and pins are unpainted, raw aluminum. This makes
it fairly easy to determine if a painted emblem is its
original finish or an earlier anodized emblem that has been
painted black (or a refinished painted emblem). The finish
on the corresponding engine size emblem followed suit.
Whether this change to paint resulted from the hue variance
inherent in the black-anodized emblems or cost-cutting is
unknown.
Cost-cutting
was definitely the determining factor in the next badge
iteration. Rear emblems on 1974-1975 Porsche 914
vehicles (except the few early 1974 models fitted
with black-painted emblems as noted above) were made out of
black plastic. Visually, these emblems are nearly identical
to the black-painted examples.
Apparently
mounting plastic emblems also proved too costly, as the 1976
model year 914 vehicles received only vinyl decal
rear badging. It is possible that this change actually
occurred late in the 1975 model year production (if you have
a 1975 Porsche 914 with factory vinyl decal badging, please ContactUs@P914.com).
Unfortunately, examples of factory vinyl badging become more
scarce each time a 1976 Porsche 914 is repainted.
