Porsche 912 – The Poor Man's 911?

Porsche 912 - A Forgotton Classic Car?

The Porche 912 is lesser known classic car inspired by the iconic Porche 911. A friend of mine, Chip, recently acquired a 1967 Porsche 912 for around 9 grand. The vehicle was originally a Californian (left-hand drive) model, & if the rumours were to be believed, the colour of the after effects of something bad eaten the night before.

This classic now sits comfortably along side the Camper Van he is also currently restoring. He must be getting very familiar with organising his Porsche classic car insurance these days. 

I couldn't wait to see it, I'm a big fan of Porsche and familiar with the classic 911 and the beautiful vintage 356 (my dream car), but not so much the 912..

The other night I got to be a passenger in this automobile and have a look over it. The first thing that struck me was the engine deck lid grille, it was very similar to the old 356 grille that gives that car it's fantastic, distinctive lines when viewed from behind.

Well, to be fair the first thing that struck me as with any car was the paint – an understated, period beige colour as you can see, that makes the car look pretty unique in a familiar Porsche world of silver, black and red.

Driving a 60's Classic Porsche

But how does a 60's classic drive in the modern world? Well it's a pretty accepted fact that getting suspension right involves some minor knowledge of wizardry by those who've tried to dabble in this particular black art before.

My VW Beetle has had the basic spline treatment, dropped spindles, lowered beam, gas adjustable shocks – in fact, I've more or less tried everything, and it still rides like shopping trolley on anything but glass-smooth roads (and there's not many of those around).

So getting a spin in this 912 was a joy, I didn't notice any of the usual front end bob that you can get in rear engined cars due to the lack of weight up front, and I can safely say, it drove and handled like a brand new car.

In fact, the only thing it had in common with my bug, was managing to “do an Obama” and grind itself across the top of my local speed bumps.

So what is the history behind this historic vehicle? Well, Porsche manufactured the 912 for a surprisingly short period of time, from 1965 to 1969.

It was intended to plug that gap between the 356 and the newer 911 as an entry level model. To all intents and purposes, this is a 911 with a 356 engine, for it shares the chassis and body of the 6-cylinder 911, while borrowing the 4-cylinder engine from the 356.

Around 30,000 were made in it's brief run, with some even being utilised as police vehicles in Europe. But it seems that almost as soon as it appeared, this little known gem was gone, for 1969 heralded the end of the 912, as the vehicle was superseded by the less curvy Porsche 914 – which let's just say enjoyed a 1970's shape and style, and leave it at that.

Though like all good fighters, the 912 did make a brief American comeback in 1976 after the 914 was discontinued, but by then, this classic car's short life was already fading into history.