MYTHBUSTERS: Did Gugelot really design the 914? Options

[SirAndy]

"Did Gugelot design the 914 as claimed by some lately and printed in a few so called expert Publications?"


here's what DGVWPB (Das Grosse VW-Porsche Buch) has to say about this topic on page 23 (scan attached):

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There's a lot of talk and Rumors

The History of the Design of the 914 has often been connected to the Designer Hans Gugelot.
The Source for the worldwide spread of this mis-information is, in retrospect, the Porsche "Bible",
Karl Ludvigsens book "Porsche - Geschichte und Technik der Renn- und Sportwagen".

Quote from his Book:
"How did a car have to look like that on one hand had to fit into the VW Model-Line and
at the same time had to have the signature touch of Ferry Porsche.
For marketing reasons the car had to be different from the current Porsche Model-Line.
There was no intention to simply copy an existing design ... to solve this without bias,
it was decided to outsource the design to the company Gugelot."

Inquiries with the Porsche Factory, personal talks with Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, the head
of the Porsche Design Studios at the time as well as talks with employees of the Gugelot Company
did, however, not verify Ludvigsens theory. Gugelot was never commissioned with the Design of
the 914. Furthermore, Porsche did not use the Gugelot-Auto as the base or template of their own Design.

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche:
"Gugelot never did anything to the Car! They had a car that had a few similarities with the 914,
that's all. The most one could do is to point out those similarities, but Gugelot had nothing to do with the Car.
It's always the same, there's a lot of talk and rumors, like when people say that my grandfather once worked for Renault ..."

Some Background:
In the early 60s, Gugelot together with the Bayer-Werke designed a plastic car that was based on a BMW.
Like the 914, this car separated itself from others through it's clear-cut lines. The car pictured in
Ludvigsens "Bible" and wrongly labeled the "Gugelot-Auto" was in fact a one-off prototype that never
made production. In addition, quite a few other Car designs of that area show similarities to the
Gugelot-Car and the 914, like the pictured Fiat 2300 with a Chassis Design by Pinifarina.

The Myth of Gugelots involvement in the Design of the 914 is especially wide-spread in the American
Literature. David Coleman for example claims that Gugelots "stark" design was influenced by Braun's
Toasters of the same Era ..."
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(IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif) Andy

PS: click on the thumb below for a full size version of the scan ...

[Mueller]

"The electronical Check-System was omitted from the production cars to keep the price down."

do you have a description of what this did and how??

[SirAndy]

"The electronical Check-System was omitted from the production cars to keep the price down."

do you have a description of what this did and how??

yes. electronical self-diagnostic system. for each circuit, there is a diagnostic light (above the knobs), when you turn on the ignition, the system runs a self test, and if a circuit fails the test, the warning light will stay on ...

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumb3d.gif) Andy