The best thing you could do to that is put a flat six in it,” was a friend’s comment when spotting a Porsche 912 parked up in Brescia, Italy. I remember it well, and it still troubles me to this day. The 912’s always been something of an enigmatic model, but to write it off because of its cylinder count does it an enormous disservice.
Introduced a year after the 911 reached showrooms, Porsche had never really intended to produce a four-cylinder derivative of its new car. Yet with the new six-cylinder 911 at a higher price point than the dated 356 and the detrimental impact that would have on sales, something needed to be done.
Plans were hastily devised to add the 616/36 push-rod iteration of the 356’s flat four engine in the back of a 911 body shell. That engine, derived from the 356 SC, had a 1,582cc capacity and produced 90hp at 5,800rpm and 122Nm of torque at 3,500rpm. A relatively simple drop-in job, Porsche’s engineers achieved their task in a few months, with the new four-cylinder car gaining the 912 badge.
Obviously, Porsche did explore other engine options that, among others, included creating a four-cylinder version of the 911’s 2.0-litre, but the eventual engine choice was the simplest solution and also opportune for Porsche at the time. The company’s industrial
