1971 Porsche 914/6 "M471"

Chassis No. 9141430415
Engine No. 6414155
Transmission No. 7510399
While the 914 may have been aimed at mass market appeal, it was designed with the expectation that both the racing department and customers would hit the track – it's a Porsche after all. Only one year after the debut of the 914, Porsche offered a racing variant of its mid-engine sports car, dubbed the 914/6 GT. Those in the racing world stood up and took note. While it was mainly European clientele who purchased the GT, Porsche/Audi Competition Manager Jo Hoppen was able to successfully receive approval to race the 914/6 in SCCA C-Production for 1970. Hoppen went one further in 1971 and lobbied the SCCA to approve the 914/6 GT. He was told that in order to race it in C-Production, Porsche would need to build 500 for homologation, however by that point only a few dozen had been built. Undeterred by that large number, Hoppen utilized the M471 'Competition Option Group' option as a way to try to satisfy the SCCA's requirements. Hoppen's choice to try and obtain SCCA homologation for the GT would ultimately prove to be the right move with Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood claming the first-ever IMSA Camel GT race at VIR in April 1971 and sharing the '71 IMSA Driver's Championship in their Brumos entered 914/6 GT.
Detailed in Sales Bulletin Number '71/47', dated 18 March 1971, Subject 'Competition Cars,' the modifications to factory-built M471 914/6 cars are laid bare: widened fenders (front and rear), 6x15 light alloy (Fuchs) wheels with 185/70 tires, 21mm spacers (front and rear) with appropriately longer wheel mounting studs. Additionally, but not listed, M471 cars received flared fiberglass rocker panels and hand-formed, flared steel front valances to match the new fender flare profile. At an additional $1375, just 23 M471-optioned 914/6 were ordered and produced ex-factory during the 1971 and 1972 model years. At the same time, in an effort to satisfy SCCA rules, Porsche produced approximately 400 M471 conversion kits although it is not known how many were installed or on which chassis numbers.
What is certain, according to a factory Telex document addressed to Paul Gotha and Jo Hoppen dated 30 June 1971, is that 914/6 chassis number 9141430415 was ordered with the rare M471 Competition Option Group when new. Delivered through Hilltop Porsche/Audi of Virginia Beach, Virginia in 1971, chassis no. 415 was just one of 15 M471 ordered worldwide that year and just one of two in optional Gemini Blue. Previous research indicates that 415 landed with a dealer in North Carolina and then later with George Hussey, owner of Automobile Atlanta, by the early 1990s. Arriving in Atlanta, Hussey embarked on a years-long restoration to return its cosmetics to their original condition. With the unibody stripped and repainted in the correct original shade of Gemini Blue, Hussey went parts shopping on the shelves of Automobile Atlanta: his company featuring one of the largest collections of New Old Stock (NOS) 914 parts in the world. During Hussey's ownership, No. 415 featured prominently with other noteworthy 914s at his showroom, in magazines (Excellence and European Car), and naturally on the cover of more than a few Automobile Atlanta parts catalogs.
In 2019, Porsche celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 914, and number 415 was invited to join the celebration just a short ride down Interstate 75 at PCNA headquarters inside the Porsche Experience Center Atlanta's Heritage Gallery. While on loan at the PEC Atlanta's Heritage Gallery for the 'Golden Anniversary,' the M471 changed hands, later selling to the consignor in 2021. Under current ownership, the consignor conducted a thorough review of the car, focusing on the details to return it to a condition closely resembling how it left the factory 52 years ago. One of just 23 914/6 factory equipped with the 'Competition Option Group' option built to homologate the 914/6 GT for SCCA racing, this M471 remains a highly collectible and rare 914 variant and is complemented by German language owner's manuals, service book, and keys.