Porsche 914

The 914/8 was not considered for production as a regular model. The high heat resistance allows the pipe to tolerate a longer period of use. The chassis remained largely unchanged, although retuned shocks and custom coil springs cut from titanium were added to the package along with the upgraded bodywork, larger wheels and tires and uprated brakes. Specialty tobacco pipes, though commonly used for smoking marijuana, are made from Pyrex. Wheel arches were flared out, larger wheels were fit, and a cooling aperture for the oil cooler was affixed to the front bumper. Due to its high heat resistance, it can tolerate the great temperature differences between water and the Nichrome heating element. The 914/8 bodywork differed from that of the standard 914 in only a few small but noticeable ways. Aquarium heaters are sometimes made out of pyrex.

The third was sold to a dentist in Maryland, and a relative inherited the car thereafter, but crashed the car and sold it to a mechanic. Claims have been made of severe personal injury during these events. The second, a red unit powered by the full-blown, 400 horsepower (298 kW) 908 motor was presented to Ferdinand Piech, Ferry's son-in-law and then chairman of the Volkswagen group. Recent reports suggest that, notwithstanding the claims made for Pyrex, the glassware can shatter violently and unexpectedly, even when used in accordance with manufacturers instructions. The first, a silver unit, was built to comemorate "Ferry" Porsche's 60th birthday, and was powered by a carburated and de-tuned 908 race motor making 260 hp (194 kW). Pyrex measuring cups, which featured painted-on markings illustrating graduated measurements, are also widely used in American kitchens. Two prototype 914s, dubbed 914/8, were built during 1969. Glass cookware is another common usage; a Pyrex pie plate is almost the American standard pie dish.

These can be easily recognized by their flared fenders and more aggressive front ends when compared to the 914. Pyrex's refractory properties and physical strength make it ideal for use in laboratories, where it is used to make high-durability glass lab equipment, such as beakers and test tubes. A supercar version known as the Porsche 916 was planned for production in the mid-70's, but was cancelled after the production of approximately 16 prototypes. Caltech's famous 200-inch telescope mirror at Mount Palomar was cast by Corning during 1934-36 out of Pyrex, which expands and contracts less than ordinary glass. The 914 was Motor Trend's Import Car of the Year for 1970. Another useful characteristic of Pyrex is that when broken, it tends to crack into large pieces rather than shattering (it will snap rather than splinter). The 2.0 litre Type IV contuinued to be used in the 912E, which provided an entry-level model until the 924 could be delivered. Pyrex is also less dense than ordinary glass.

914 production ended in 1975 (though some leftover 1975 models were sold as 1976 models), two years prior to the introduction of its eventual replacement, the 924. The boron gives borosilicate glass a reduced thermal expansion coefficient (about one-third that of ordinary glass), making it more resistant to heat. bound units to help with emissions control. Borrowing from the welding trade, new burners combining oxygen with natural gas were required. For 1974, the 1.7 was bored out to 1.8 litres, and the new Bosch fuel injection system from the 2.0 was added to U.S. Since Pyrex melts at a higher temperature than ordinary silicate glass, some new techniques were required to bring Pyrex into industrial production. Slow sales and rising costs prompted Porsche to discontinue the 914/6 variant in 1972 after producing only a little over 3,000 of them; its place in the lineup was filled by a variant powered by a new 2.0 litre, fuel injected version of VW's Type IV 4-cylinder engine in 1973. Pyrex is created by adding boron to the traditional glassmaker's "frit" of silicate sand, soda, and ground lime.

Many enthusiasts regard this as having been a big mistake on Porsche's part. . Porsche handled export to the U.S., where both versions were badged and sold as Porsches. Though borosilicates had been produced before, the name Pyrex is widely used as a synonym for the material. 914/6 models used the same suspension and brakes as the 911, giving the car handling and braking superiority over the 4-cylinder VW models in addition to higher power output. Pyrex is a brand name of borosilicate glass introduced by Corning Glass Works in 1924. Karmann manufactured the rolling chassis at their own plant, then either sent them to Porsche for fitment of the Porsche suspension and flat-six engine or kept them in house for VW hardware.

Porsche's 914/6 variant came with a carburetted 2.0 litre 110hp flat six-cylinder engine, taken from the 1969 911T. Volkswagen versions originally came with an 80hp fuel-injected 1.7 litre flat-4 engine based on the unit that powered the VW 411 and 412 saloon cars (the VW Type 4). Although this had an effect on sales, people soon realized that the 914/6, which shared the 911T's powerplant but was lighter weight and better balanced, was actually a quite competent sports car, and the car became Porsche's top seller during its entire model run, outselling the 911 by a wide margin, with over 118,000 units sold worldwide. As a result, the price of the chassis went up considerably, and the 914/6 ended up costing only a bit less than the 911T, Porsche's next lowest price car.

Unfortunately for Porsche, complications arose after the death of Volkswagen's chairman, forcing the deal to be re-worked. market, and convinced VW to allow them to sell both versions as Porsches in North America. Although they stuck with this setup in Europe, Porsche decided during development that having VW and Porsche models sharing the same body would be risky for business in the U.S. As a cost saving measure, and in part because VW wanted engineering help from Porsche, the two decided to share a platform, originally intending to sell the vehicle in four-cylinder trim as a Volkswagen and in six-cylinder trim as a Porsche.

By the late 1960s, both VW and Porsche were in need of new models; Porsche was looking for a model to replace the 912 and VW was looking to add a sporty, inexpensive 2-door to the lineup. The Porsche 914 was a sports car automobile built and sold collaboratively by Volkswagen and Porsche from 1969 through 1975.