1973 Paris Auto Show - Karmann Stand, ......and the Flag Cars Options

[wonkipop]

@JeffBowlsby

good thing i got my 914 out this morning on dawn patrol.
had a great drive down in the docklands wasteland with no nongs in SUVs blocking my various hooligan antics. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

nows its cold/raining this afternoon but i am still in 914 mood/mode.

dragged out the Karmann Stand @ Paris Auto Show 1973 photos i dug up.
i discovered them on a blog about historic car shows.
they were captioned as from the Paris Auto show 1973.

time to check veracity.
image 1 i found.



compare and contrast with image from ludwigson on your can am website (from excellence). checks out. see notes on photos. its from paris 1973 if K L is to be trusted. and normally he can be.



these appear to be the two cars you term Can Am prototype 2 and 3.

from your website.


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which led me to the mystery car on the stand you term protogype 4
and which ludwigson described.



and this other image i dug up from the blog.
its definitely another 914 that was on the stand at the Paris Auto Show.
it was captioned as but additionally the carpet floor tiles on the stand are a match for photo of other 2 cars on stand as are general decor wall colors and graphic thematic.



i conclude two possibilities.
1). this is the image of the third car you seek and K L was mistaken. it did not have drop out side stripes as per porsche turbo on porsche stand. instead it had the earlier form of side stripes. it was not an USA model.
or
2) there was a 4th car on the stand and this is it and the drop out side stripes remains still to be found. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)


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additional trivia.

this ones been of interest to me for a while.
the five cars that come under the banner of prototype 1 in your website.
frankfurt auto show cars. the 5 cars with flag themes to do with Can Am.

here is your explanation of the flags and what they represent.




a better clearer picture of the 5 cars in question.




ok i can't see anything french in these graphics or canadian.
i've looked hard.
all that is there is USA, UK and Germany.
no pausible symbols relating to french or canadians.

but i think i cracked it.
there are 5 cars because porsche participated in the CAN AM series for 5 seasons.
1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973.
(winning the series in 72 and 73).
they did not enter in 66, 67 , 68.

and the teams that fielded porsche cars during those five years were from 3 countries.
UK, Germany and USA.

Penske (USA) , J.W.A. (UK) , A G Dean (UK) , Martini Racing (Germany), Porsche-Audi North America. (USA).

its not about the drivers. they came from backgrounds including canada, mexico, brazil and switzerland as well as UK, USA. its just the teams.
thats my theory anyway.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

i wouldn't mind betting there is very specific intentions in the livery that relates each of the 5 cars specifically to each of the teams. but i don't know enough about the particulars of the teams that would be the clue. the english ones are very interesting.
i can see why you thought the one with rondels might have been french. but the french rondel (air force) is a blue dot and red outer ring. thats the UK rondel from the royal air force. its a pointed reference. either J W automotive (john wyer) or A.G. Dean had something to do with the Royal Air Force. same goes for the USA team cars. one of them is very flamboyant.

whoever designed these liveries was really having fun. i think they are very literate as they say in art criticism circles.

[wonkipop]

@JeffBowlsby

this was one of the last little things i was vacuuming up on the 1.8 L jet data.
following up on this post of yours here on this website from nearly 20 years ago.



and what i am coming up with is april 1974.
i have just enough L jet data from very sound original cars gathered on file that shows that the first Ljets built in nov to dec 1973 were being delivered in early to mid april 1973 and were receiving the positive side stripes that were used on cars from 70-73.
and the cars being built in jan 74 and being delivered in late april - may 74 were receiving the negative drop out stripes identical to the "can am" cars.

funnily enough the earliest example i have collected of the negative side stripes is my car. jan 25 1974 build and delivered friday 5 april 1974. in fact of the examples i have on file with delivery paperwork etc mine has the shortest elapsed time between build and delivery. a little over 2 months. most have an approx 3-4 month lag between build and delivery. (kind of fits with the car itself, i think it was actually ordered specifically rather than bought off the showroom floor - with its sway bars, parcel bin etc).

so im finding april is the cross over month where the cars get both positive or negative side stripes depending on the dealer. two of the examples i have on file with the positive side stripes list the stripes on the windscreen sticker forms. both april deliveries.

i'm guessing maybe that possibly the first of the "can ams' must hit the showrooms around late april or early may.

another one of those interesting things about the L jets. the very earliest of them get the positive side stripes and after that from jan build dates on more or less they get the negatives.

ill sort out the data and plug it on to the end of the L jet file thread.

i'll keep searching for a drop out graphic show car but i reckon the turbo prototype is it as far as public display of the graphic goes during late 1973. and then it pops up at the dealers as part of the package for the "can am" cars. all timed to start showing up on the "can am" cars before being fitted widely to any 914 if you wanted them.

EDIT
L jet data with side stripe info noted in.
(will load up later on L jet file thread with images showing examples and documents).
with so many cars repainted over half a century/so few original this is the only examples i can trust.
interestingly all of them are like mine. the decals (whether positive or negative) are full length and wrap around the edges of the lips of the fender into the wheel wells.