Rare Rides: A Prototype 1970 Porsche 914 Murene, by Heuliez

Corey Lewis
by Corey Lewis

Today’s Rare Ride is the second vehicle in the series designed by French coachbuilder Heuliez, and was a one-off as part of a Porsche 914 styling competition.

The 914 was a joint Volkswagen-Porsche project and entered the Porsche lineup as the brand’s entry-level vehicle for the 1970 model year. There were two basic versions available, the base 914 with a 1.7-liter flat-four, or the 914/6 with a 2.0-liter flat-six. The former mill was a VW engine, so was derided among the Porsche purists of the day. The six-cylinder came from Porsche and thus was more acceptable, but the 914 was still tainted with the dueling auras of cheap and Volkswagen.

Before the 914 entered production, Porsche decided to have a contest to see who could restyle the rather plain-looking 914 into something better. An early production example was originally obtained by a company called Brissonneau et Lotz, who planned to implement a 914 body of their (employee’s) design. The 914 edit idea came from employee Jacques Cooper, a designer who was a former employee of Raymond Loewy. But B et L had some money troubles, and couldn’t afford to start the project. It didn’t progress past the design sketch stage, which Cooper penned.

The 914 build was passed on to designer Henri Heuliez, who was still new to the automotive design industry. Cooper managed the transition from Brissonneau to Heuliez, and Heuliez started work immediately. The 914 rework went from a paper sketch to a driving prototype in 10 weeks, as Heuliez was eager to prove he could complete a quality car body in short order.

Nearly all original panels of the 914 were replaced, the boxy shape tossed in favor of a wedge with upswept lines toward the rear. B-pillars were widened and included cooling gills that were formerly found on the hood above the midship engine. There were also taillamps unique to the Murene in place of the Porsche units. Perhaps most notably, the 914’s coupe form was edited into a hatchback.

The Heuliez design took the stage for the first time at the Paris Motor Show of 1970, where it was one of three wedge-shaped 914 design exercises completed that year. ItalDesign completed another under the direction of boss Giorgetto Giugiaro that was called Tapiro. A third take was designed by Eurostyle Torino. The Heuliez design received an official name that fall at the Geneva Motor Show: Murene.

After the show circuit and per agreement, the Murene was the property of Brissonneau. Porsche decided to drop the 914 restyling idea for unstated reasons. Brissonneau didn’t hold on to the Murene for long, and Heuliez bought it from them in 1971. Heuliez immediately repainted the Murene from light brown to a super Seventies two-tone orange and beige and put it in his personal garage. Heuliez owned the Murene through 2012 (near the time of Heuliez’ closure) and restored it before its sale to a third private owner.

The Murene sold to its fourth happy owner in August 2021, for $159,914.

[Images: YouTube]

Corey Lewis
Corey Lewis

Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.

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  • Mjz Mjz on Sep 15, 2021

    It looks like one of those weird fiberglass kit cars. Simply horrendous. Not up to fun, funky French design standards at all.

  • Renewingmind Renewingmind on Sep 17, 2021

    It isn’t pretty but it seems like a pretty good deal for a one of one custom rebody of a classic Porsche. And I absolutely agree on the Opel GT vibes the headlights give off.

  • Jeffrey Apple music and Podcasts if not listening to NPR.
  • Theflyersfan Amazon Music HD through Android Auto. It builds a bunch of playlists and I pick one and drive. Found a bunch of new music that way. I can't listen to terrestrial radio any longer. Ever since (mainly) ClearChannel/iHeartMedia gobbled up thousands of stations, it all sounds the same. And there's a Sirius/XM subscription that I pay $18/month for but barely use because actually being successful in canceling it is an accomplishment that deserves a medal.
  • MRF 95 T-Bird Whenever I travel and I’m in my rental car I first peruse the FM radio to look for interesting programming. It used to be before the past few decades of media consolidation that if you traveled to an area the local radio stations had a distinct sound and flavor. Now it’s the homogenized stuff from the corporate behemoths. Classic rock, modern “bro dude” country, pop hits of today, oldies etc. Much of it tolerable but pedestrian. The college radio stations and NPR affiliates are comfortable standbys. But what struck me recently is how much more religious programming there was on the FM stations, stuff that used to be relegated to the AM band. You have the fire and brimstone preachers, obviously with a far right political bend. Others geared towards the Latin community. Then there is the happy talk “family radio” “Jesus loves you” as well as the ones featuring the insipid contemporary Christian music. Artists such as Michael W. Smith who is one of the most influential artists in the genre. I find myself yelling at the dashboard “Where’s the freakin Staple singers? The Edwin Hawkins singers? Gospel Aretha? Gospel Elvis? Early Sam Cooke? Jesus era Dylan?” When I’m in my own vehicle I stick with the local college radio station that plays a diverse mix of music from Americana to rock and folk. I’ll also listen to Sirius/XM: Deep tracks, Little Steven’s underground as well as Willie’s Roadhouse and Outlaw country.
  • The Comedian I owned an assembled-in-Brazil ‘03 Golf GTI from new until ‘09 (traded in on a C30 R-Design).First few years were relatively trouble free, but the last few years are what drove me to buy a scan tool (back when they were expensive) and carry tools and spare parts at all times.Constant electrical problems (sensors & coil packs), ugly shedding “soft” plastic trim, glovebox door fell off, fuel filters oddly lasted only about a year at a time, one-then-the-other window detached from the lift mechanism and crashed inside the door, and the final reason I traded it was the transmission went south.20 years on? This thing should only be owned by someone with good shoes, lots of tools, a lift and a masochistic streak.
  • Terry I like the bigger size and hefty weight of the CX90 and I almost never use even the backseat. The average family is less than 4 people.The vehicle crash safety couldn't be better. The only complaints are the clumsy clutch transmission and the turbocharger.
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