Why the 914?

I have been a fan of Lotus cars since I was 18 and good friends David and Martin Bonser taught me about suspension layouts and the physics of keeping a car on the road. Back in 2001, there was no hope of buying a Lotus Elise in the US. I was interested in getting another old car since I missed the Spitfire that I had as my first car back in the UK. I looked at another Spitfire, but couldn’t stomach the wierd Americanization of it, poor handling and suspension layout, and generally I felt like I had been there and done that.

Out for lunch one day, I spied a 914. I thought it was really cool looking – clearly mid-engined. I remember thinking to myself – wow – I hope it’s not air-cooled (it is..). The 914 is a lot like a Lotus in that is light and mid-engined – and handles like it’s on rails. I also thought that it would be truly awesome to put a Subaru WRX engine into one. 4 years later I am getting quite close to having a very nice little Elise chaser.

Adventures

I have had several adventures in the 914.  The car has quite an active community over at 914World, where events get organised quite often.

• 2005 West Coast Classic in Portland
• 2003 Track day at Sears Point Raceway
• 2002/3? Track day at Laguna Seca