Porsche 914 Badges: 2.0 (Liter)

Four Finishes, All Black

With 1973 came the introduction of the VW assembled 2.0L four-cylinder 914 model, replacing the Porsche assembled 914/6 which was discontinued after the 1972 model year due to poor sales. This vehicle was initially marketed as the "914 S" to match the 911 "S" ("Super") designation for the more powerful version. No Porsche 914 cars were actually produced with an "S" emblem. Instead, a second rear emblem was introduced on 914 models to denote engine displacement in liters: "1.7" or "2.0" in 1973, and "1.8" or "2.0" for 1974-1976 model year vehicles. Marketing quickly followed suit, and the new vehicle became the "914 2.0L."

Similar to the "914" rear badge, the finish and materials used for these insignia changed several times although the style and dimensions remained constant. As with all engine size emblems, the "2.0" badges came only in black (fading notwithstanding).

Practical Planning

The "2.0" badges are all exactly 83 mm long by 20 mm high. With the exception of the insignia on the 1976 models, they are 3 mm thick and attached to the vehicles by two 10 mm rear prongs that fit through holes in the chassis and are subsequently secured via speed nuts. These prongs are spaced 51 mm center to center, with a 4 mm offset (higher on the right). This mounting post spacing is uniform across all three engine size designation emblems (1.7, 1.8 & 2.0) permitting chassis production consistency.

Current eBay listings for Porsche 914 "2.0" emblems (compare listed emblems with those pictured on this page to ensure authenticity and model year utilization):

Porsche 914 2.0 Rear Emblems on eBAY

Early 1973 "2.0" Badge: Black-Anodized Aluminum

"2.0" rear emblems on the early to mid 1973 Porsche 914 2.0L models were black-anodized aluminum. The black anodizing, however, varied in shade and tends to fade to a purple-tinted gray or even a grayish-silver hue (examples shown at right). Moreover, the "914" and engine size badges were anodized separately, so the two tend not to match.

Late 1973 - Early 1974 "2.0" Emblem:
Black-Painted Aluminum

Later 1973 Porsche 914 and some early 1974 Porsche 914 2.0L vehicles (including some of the Limited Edition cars) came equipped with black-painted aluminum badges. Note that these emblems are painted semi-gloss black only on the front and edges; the rear of the emblem and pins are unpainted, raw aluminum. This makes it fairly easy to determine if a painted emblem is its original finish or an earlier anodized emblem that has been painted black (or a refinished painted emblem). Whether this change to paint resulted from the hue variance inherent in the black-anodized emblems or cost-cutting is unknown.

Porsche 914 Emblem: Black Plastic

Cost-cutting was definitely the determining factor in the next badge iteration. Rear emblems on 1974-1975 Porsche 914 2.0L vehicles (except the few early 1974 models fitted with black-painted emblems as noted above) were made out of black plastic. From the front, these emblems are visually almost identical to the black-painted examples. Unlike the painted emblems, the plastic badges are (of course) uniformly black on the front and back.

Porsche 914 Emblem: Black Vinyl (Decal)

Apparently mounting plastic emblems also proved too costly, as the 1976 model year 914 2.0L vehicles received only vinyl decal rear badging. It is possible that this change actually occurred late in the 1975 model year production (if you have a 1975 Porsche 914 with factory vinyl decal badging, please ContactUs@P914.com). Unfortunately, examples of factory vinyl badging become more scarce each time a 1976 Porsche 914 is repainted.