1976 Porsche 912E-Bitter Chocolate over Cinnamon, 5-speed, full history from new, thousands spent!

1976 Porsche 912E

I had a customer comment to me last week: “I am amazed, you never seem to lose your cool at work….”. Well, I wish that were actually true, but I do endeavor to never lose it in front of anyone BUT if you want to make me seethe, tell me you “have to” have an S, a Turbo, a GT3, et al…. especially in a tone of voice which indicates that you couldn’t possibly even fathom the idea of driving a base model or something with less than ludicrous horsepower…..

Why would that make me mad? Simply because their EGO is precluding them from truly experiencing some of the best road going Porsche’s ever built. I will go on record here, a 992 Turbo S actually isn’t that fun to drive! GASP, how is that possible? 0-60 in 2.2 seconds has to be insanely fun. Trust me, its fun about 3 times, then you think what the hell am I doing….

So then what is fun? Fun is becoming one with a machine, the feel of getting the rev match just right, the sensation of just a little bit of slip angle that a quick shuffle of the hands can correct, the sound of a motor winding to redline… that is fun! For that reason alone I really enjoy this 912E, it is NOT fast but it is light, agile, with delicate steering and a rorty exhaust note. Can you ego take less than 100hp???

This particular 912E is an excellent driver, certainly not perfect but well loved and documented from day 1. The history is too exhaustive to enumerate here, but suffice it to say I have a 3-ring binder detailing everything that has been done over the last 45 years including a bare metal/glass out respray ~ 15 years ago. The most recent owner has spent close to $13,000 getting most of the small stuff right. It runs and drives beautifully!

If you have never heard of this model, you aren’t alone. They built just 2,099 of these as a 1-year only model and only for the US market. They were intended to bridge the gap between the outgoing 914 and the incoming 924. They have a cult like following for a reason, they combine the sweetness on a 356 and the chassis improvements of a 911. I jokingly call these 356DE’s!

If you havent driven one of these, you are in for a treat. The utilize a very slightly modified version of the 2.0 flat-4 motor used in the 914. This motor is rated at 90hp, so while it certainly isn’t fast in comparison to the 2.7 liter 143hp 6-cylinder motor the 1976 911 came with, it is revvy and encourages you to learn about momentum driving. It handles better than an equivalent 911 being lighter weight and having the motors mass ahead of the rear centerline. Think of it as a refined, smooth and updated 356.

The car comes with it’s original books, tool kit, service history and is verified as numbers matching via the included Certificate of Authenticity.

Come check it out, SO much fun!