Knikki is the 1974 LE that this Original Owner has Had Since he was 11 Years Old.

Republished with permission from the Spring 2016 issue of Fourteener Motoring Magazine.

Original 914 owners are special. Imagine nurturing a car for 40 years. People that own automobiles that long talk of them as if they have a connection with the car. In a way, it often becomes part of the family.

I am always a little jealous, when I meet someone that has owned their 914 since it was new. While I was too young to buy one when they were still being produced by Porsche, I am still wishful that someone had bought one for me and just put it away. Just to wait until I could appreciate and enjoy it. That is exactly what happened for Alberto Favilla. Well, sorta.

On May 1, 1974, when Alberto was just 11 years old, his dad bought a brand new 1974 Porsche 914 Limited Edition. The father and son team drove the new Porsche off of the lot together.

The older Favilla drove the car for about four years until the exhaust system rusted out. Apparently the father got upset that such an expensive car had this issue that he parked the car in the garage, and bought a VW Rabbit.

The oldest photo Alberto has of the car. It is either from the summer of 1974 or 1975.

Fast forward 24 years to 2002. After Alberto’s father passed away, he asked his mother about the 914, still sitting in the garage. She said the car was his. Surprised by her response, he asked what his sister might think of that. Alberto’s mom replied by stating that his sister “had no say in the matter.”

To explain, Alberto’s mother went and got the original paperwork for the car. To his surprise the car was actually in his name, not his father’s. Alberto’s dad had orignally bought the 914 in his son’s name, Alberto George Favilla (his dad’s name is Alberto Jorge Favilla). Even the financing was put in the young, Favilla’s name, when the car was new, and Alberto was only 11 years old.

Knikki and Al when he was just thirteen years old, and the car was only two.

Today the Limited Edition 914, affectionately named Knikki, has less than 50,000 miles on the odometer, after being stored in the garage for 24 years. The car is as rust-free as they come. Alberto has replaced the heat exchangers and muffler, the issue which had put the car in hibernation in the first place. 

Alberto has also made a few other improvements, including repainting the car after all of those years took its toll on the exterior. The engine has OEM Mahle euro pistons and cylinders, on the original block. He also installed new brakes, battery tray, shocks, clutch, windshield, rubber, and a few odds and ends.

The cinnamon interior is in excellent condition. 

Alberto considered converting the 914 to a six. But, since it is a Limited Edition model, and holds so much sentimental value, he just couldn’t do it. So he bought a 914-6 instead. Today both cars share the garage. But only Knikki and Alberto share the memory of that first drive off of the dealer lot.