Amelia to Feature Moss, Porsche 914

The 20th annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, scheduled for March 13-15, 2015, will honor Sir Stirling Moss, and feature the first mid-engined production Porsche, the 914, in all its variants. Moss is, of course, the celebrated British Grand Prix and Sports Car star who won races for Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Vanwall, Cooper and Lotus during the 1950s and early ’60s, but somehow never quite managed to win the F1 World Championship.

The prototype 914 appeared early in 1968, the fruit of a project directed by Porsche R&D chief Ferdinand Piech, Ferdinand Porsche’s grandson. It appeared almost simultaneously with the fearsome 917 Le Mans endurance racer. Porsche had no illusions about the technological and commercial realities of its new sports car, which started as a joint venture between Volkswagen and Porsche, because the latter needed an entry level replacement for its four-cylinder 912. With the economies of scale brought by a production liaison with Volkswagen, the 914 could be commercially viable. The lower price of the 914 drew a new clientele into Porsche showrooms, and the 914 quickly outsold the pricier 911.