Gracing the Green in a 914: The first and only appearance of a Porsche 914 LE Can Am at an Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance event, 914 LE Can Am at the Cars and Coffee at the Concours Options

[tumamilhem]

The 2015 20th Anniversary of the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, arguably the better of the two most prestigious car shows in the world, did a great service to a car that has long been overdue. It celebrated and honored the Porsche 914 as its featured marque for the 20th Anniversary of the Concours, displaying the 914 in unprecedented form. So much so, that it did not include any other classic Porsche models in the Porsche section. All the green was reserved just for the 914. Only a handful of other Porsche models were present at the Concours, a few in the Rally section and a few production cars in an assortment of other marques. But the Concours would have no other cars occupy the Porsche field to deter attention from the 914. In fact, it left a large open green in front of the display, commanding attention and demanding the respect it deserves. Only the rarest of the rare in the 914 family were on display at the Sunday Concours, save one impeccably restored 914/6. A 916 (11 made), a slew of historically significant 914/6 GT race cars, and the infamous one and only 350 bhp prototype 914/8 that belonged to Herr Pierch himself.

On the Saturday Cars and Coffee at The Concours event, a handful of 914s graced the Concours green as well, one of which being the rarest of the 914 productions cars sold to the public - the LE Can Am. A 'Creamsicle' no less, the rarer by almost half of the remaining two American Limited Edition Can Am production cars (Creamsicle and Bumblebee).

This is for the fans of the LE.

High Resolution pictures of the car are available for those interested. Enjoy! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Steve Snyder]

... besides the funky cosmetics, can you name one thing that differentiates an LE from any other fully equipped '74 2.0L?

The price? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Just kidding. I actually own a fully-equipped '74 2.0L that was part of both the Amelia C&C and 2/3 of the events that Tommy organized. All I can say is that I had a blast throughout. It was great hanging out with the 914World crew, hearing their stories and experiences and seeing their cars.

Thanks to all present for making the experience one that I shall remember fondly. It was a great weekend for our weird little cars.

[tumamilhem]

... besides the funky cosmetics, can you name one thing that differentiates an LE from any other fully equipped '74 2.0L?

The price? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Just kidding. I actually own a fully-equipped '74 2.0L that was part of both the Amelia C&C and 2/3 of the events that Tommy organized. All I can say is that I had a blast throughout. It was great hanging out with the 914World crew, hearing their stories and experiences and seeing their cars.

Thanks to all present for making the experience one that I shall remember fondly. It was a great weekend for our weird little cars.

Thanks you, Steve! It was great meeting you and seeing your yellow car too! There's lots of pics of it in the Amelia Island and 914 Experience threads. If you want higher res pics of them I'll be happy to send them to you. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Everybody was really nice and I'm glad you and everybody had a great time. That's what it's all about! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

And you're right about the price (value) definitely being a factor because of it's intended and specific limited run and what it represents. Some may disagree thinking it's just a paint job. Yes there are other things that differentiates it from the rest. Jeff Bowlsby has gladly argued it. So have I. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/creamsicle914.jpg)

Interestingly though, some may not know, that an LE sold new was less than a fully optioned '74 (one of the reasons I posted my window sticker to show). It was actually less expensive to buy an LE (if you liked the cosmetics) than a regular loaded '74. And I just happen to see an original bill of sale on the LE registry yesterday where someone bought an LE and there was a dealer note on there that said "Paint bumpers black, free of charge". So I guess what's one way of getting what you want for less. :/