1966 Porsche 906 Coupe

Rule changes for the 1966 24-Hours of LeMans introduced the Group 4 Sports Car class for which 50 examples had to be built rather than the GT class requirement of 500 examples. The new rules fit Porsche's interest in endurance racing perfectly. The Type 906 Carrera 6 introduced that year, utilizing the Type 911 2-liter flat-6 engine, 5-speed transaxle, lightweight and superb match of power and road holding to become Porsche's first 'giant killer.' Long the dominant marque in 2-liter racing, the new Carrera 6 continued the supremacy with a significant step-up. Weighing under 1,400 pounds with just 220 horsepower, this new tube frame Porsche proved a challenger to win Le mans overall for the first time. Six 906/6 entries were on the starting grid for the 24-Hours, three as Sports Cars and three as Prototypes due to some non-50 long tail specifications in the latter.

This Carrera 6 is one of five factory entries at Le Mans in 1966, driven by Peter Gregg and Sten Axelson; DNF in the 24th hour...7th overall when retired behind the three GT40s and the three 906 longtails....8th based on laps completed at the finish. Peter Gregg was a well-known and successful American driver from Jacksonville, FL. He owned Brumos Porsche at this time and was later instrumental in leading the development of IMSA.

Chassis number 906-155 was the 58th of 65 produced. The engine is 906-022 and original with specifications - 2.0 liters, 6-cylinder boxer-horizontal, air-cooled, two triple barrel 46mm Weber 3C IDA carburetors, twin plug heads, twin ignition, enlarged ports/valves, aggressive cams, domed pistons, 10.3:1 compression ratio, forged titanium rods and cylinder head bolts, cast magnesium crankcase and covers, drilled flywheel, 220 horsepower at 8000 RPM.

The 906s were the last Porsche street-legal racing cars and were capable of 170 mph.