1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS Coupe

Introduced in late 1963, the first six 904s were 'works' cars with the following 100 being identical customer cars. The 904s were built rapidly, four or five a day, to meet FIA's requirements of at least 100 to qualify as production GT cars. Porsche contracted with Heinkel, of aircraft fame. To build and wire the 904s which were Porsche's first complete all-fiberglass car. They were designed by 'Butzi' Porsche, head stylist for his grandfather's firm. 904s were robust cars capable of running 4-, 6-, or 8-cylinder engines. The 4-cylinder cars powered by the legendary Dr. Ernst Fuhrmann 4-cam engine, 904 speed, handling, and durability proved overwhelmingly successful at out-lasting their competition to become 4-cylinder 'giant killers' ordered by Porsche racing teams around the world.

In US racing, 904s took National Championships in both 1964 and 1965. In the 904's first European outing, they took a 1-2 victory in Sicily's grueling Targa Florio, a stunning achievement and overall victory for a new GT car. At Nurbrugring the 904 took 3rd overall. At Le Mans: 7th overall, and Index of Performance regarded second overall to overall victory. Through 1965, 904s were Porsche's mainline contender that finished 4-5 overall at Le Mans 1965, winning class again with one entry winning Index of Performance and the other winning Index of Thermal Efficiency as the best overall performance by weight on the least amount of fuel.

This 904, fitted with a later Type 906 6-cylinder engine, came to the United States during 1966 and was campaigned for years by Vasek Polak, noted Porsche dealer in California.

Orders far exceeded the number of production versions made, which was 106. The list price was US $7,245. The 904 marked the beginning of a series of sports cars that culminated in the dominant 917.

The 904's mid-engine layout was inherited from the 718. It was the first Porsche to utilize a ladder chassis and fiberglass body. The drag coefficient was .034 which was quite remarkable for the time.

The original 904 Coupe displaced a 1966cc motor producing 198 horsepower with a weight to power ratio of 5.4. Top speed was 160 miles per hour and 0-60 was achieved in six seconds.