The Porsche 914, which is also sometimes called the VW-Porsche 914, is a two-seat roadster with a targa top and a mid-level engine. The vehicle was marketed and manufactured with collaboration between the Porsche Company and the Volkswagen name. The vehicle's life span was 1969-1976, though there are some classic vehicles still on the road today.

In the late 1960s, both of the carmakers needed some new models to replace older versions so they got together to create the Porsche 914. Porsche wanted to replace its entry-level vehicle called the 912 and Volkswagen was in need of a sports coupe so it could stop producing the Karmann Ghia. VW allowed Porsche to handle most of its development anyways so collaboration only made sense.

The Porsche 914 was supposed to have a four-cylinder engine when it was called a VW and a six-cylinder as a Porsche, but Porsche decided that having both vehicles share the same body would hurt the chances for business in America. The company went to VW and asked if they could sell both versions under the Porsche name in order to avoid confusion.

The prototype for the 914 came out in 1968, but development slowed when the VW chairman passed away later that year. The man named as his successor did not appreciate the Porsche legacy as much and the verbal statements the two companies had made regarding the vehicle's development quickly fell apart. The new chairman, Kurt Lotz, felt that the VW Company had just as many rights to the new model as Porsche did and they should not share the name with the other company. The marketing concept for the vehicle was put to a stop before it even began and the price on it went up quite a bit. Consumers quickly realized that the 914 were too high of a price for a vehicle with similar features to the 911, which was the next car in price.

The 914 went through some changes later in its life and the slow sales prompted the discontinuation of certain features and variants. By 1970, those changes were starting to pay off and the 914 got the Motor Trend Import Car of the Year award. The vehicle also won the GTS class in a big race and 6th place in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970. These two feats won the vehicle quite a bit of attention and sales began to take off more than in the past.

The vehicle had six model years and a great deal of cosmetic and other changes were made during that time. Some of the changes were in reaction to crash standards and other protective ratings and others were things like chrome bumpers to enhance the appearance of the vehicles. Bumper guards were placed on the front of the car in 1974 and rear guards were added in 1974. Heavy rubber bumpers replaced the painted or chrome bumpers in 1976 and the headlights went from white to black.

Many of the 914s that exist today have a lot of damage to them since repair parts are hard to come by. The scarcity of the cars makes them more valuable in today's market where they have been out of production for 35 years.