1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS Coupe

Ferdinand A. 'Butzi' Porsche was tasked in 1962 with designing a new two-seat competition coupe that could be driven on the track or the street. It was to have a mid-engine chassis configuration which had proven so successful with the racing department's lightweight spyders. Porsche hoped their new six-cylinder Type 901 engine would be ready for the new mid-engined coupe to run at Le Mans, but they were not convinced that the new engine would be properly tested and tuned. Most 904s were powered by the Type 547 (1.6 liter) and Type 587/3 (2.0 liter) Carrera four-cylinder motors. By the end of production, the 904's were given the 2.0-liter 901 flat-six.

The 904 GTS was introduced in early 1964 and would be very successful, scoring victories at Sebring, the Targa Florio, Spa, the Nürburgring 1000 KM, the 24 Hours of Le Mans (a 1-4 class sweep), the 12 Hours of Reims, the Coppa Inter-Europa, the Tour de France, the Bridgehampton 500 KM, and the 1000 KM of Paris.

This example, chassis number 904-026, was originally delivered to Porsche dealer Rittersbacher in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on 19 February 1964. It came delivered finished in Silver Metallic with blue upholstery and was fitted with safety seat belts and a sport exhaust. In April, Fritz Leinenweber, of Pirmasens, purchased the Porsche.

The first outing for this car was at the Hunstrück Bergrennen Revival on 19 August 1964. He won the GT class, posted the day's best overall time, and set a new hill record. This was followed by two more 1st in class wins, one at Bergrennen Happerg and the other at Course de Côte d'Urcy, France.

On September 13, at Bergrennen Luxemburg, the car scored its fourth consecutive class victory, which was complemented by a 5th overall at the Course de Côte Merveilleuse the following weekend. The next event the car competed in was at the Bergrennen Viaden, in Belgium, in early November, where it earned a 1st in the GT class. The final event in the 1964 season was the Bergrennen Taubensuhl, which was held later in November, and it resulted in another overall victory and new course record.

The 1965 season began well for the car, with a 2nd in class and 4th overall at the Bergrennen Kautenbach. After this outing, the car was sold to Michel Weber, who had previously raced with the Signal Red 904-029 during the 1964 season. The first outing for Weber with 904-026 was at the Bergpreis Bad Neuenahr, which resulted in a 1st in class. A month later, the car raced at Taunus, where it finished 3rd in class. This was followed by three consecutive class victories in the following meetings, which took place at Bergrennen Eberbach, Sudelfeld-Bergrennen, and Spessart-Bergrennen.

On June 13, at the Alpen-Bergpreis Rossfeld, Weber finished 5th overall and 2nd in class. Two weeks later, at the Olympia-Bergrennen Axamar Lizum in Austria, 904-026 won 1st in class and 1st overall. It is believed that prior to this race, Weber slightly fared the rear arches and installed wider rear wheels and tyres.

In August of 1965, at the Bergpreis Freiburg-Schauinsland, Weber won the GT class and gained points in the European Hill Climb Championship. The following meeting was held at the Bergrennen Ratisbona where Sepp Gregor and Weber set identical times, resulting in a tie for top honors. A week later, Weber took an overall victory and gained another track record at the Hunsrück-Bergrennen Revival.

The final event of the 1965 season was held on November 1, 1965 at the Bergpreis Rhön. As the checkered flag dropped, it was three 904s claiming the top three spots, with Weber and 026 taking the outright victory. At the close of the season, Weber finished in a three-way tie for 1st place in the German GT Hill Climb Championship, alongside Reinhold Joest and Siegfried Spiess. Due to the displacement handicap regulation, Spiess was awarded the championship.

For the 1966 season, Weber's first outing with 026 was the 1000 KM of Monza, which took place on April 25th. For this event, Weber teamed up with Jochen Neerpasch. With the turn of the year came the end of the three-year GT class homologation of the Porsche 904, which meant the car was forced to compete in the sports car field against very tough competition. The car qualified well but unfortunately was forced to retire prematurely due to engine problems. After this event, Weber made the decision to trade in the 904 for an ex-Works 904/6.

The next owner of the car is believed to have been Armando Capriles, of Venezuela, who purchased the car through Porsche in 1966. Alfredo Atencio and Armando Capriles raced with the car during 1966 and into 1967 at events in-and-around Venezuela. The next owner is believed to have been Flavio Espino from Caracas. He raced it at Road Atlanta in October of 1972. By the time of Road Atlanta race, the car was now powered by a six-cylinder engine, which had presumably been fitted after the engine issue Weber had encountered at Monza in 1966.

Harem Cruz of Caracas Venezuela advertised the car for sale in an issue of Road & Track for $8,500. By this time, it had been given a new factory four-cam Type 587/3 engine (number 99 099). Harem Cruz sold the car in August 1973 to Jim Wayman, of Hawaii. Mr. Wayman had the car painted Ruby Red. He then advertised the car for sale in Panorama, with an advertised asking price of $15,000.

By December of 1975, the car was in the care of Bill Steen in Shreveport, Louisiana. The following year, it was sold to John Robbins, of Omaha, Nebraska. Mr. Robbins had the correct pedals, taillights, and front indicator lights re-fitted to the car. Various other minor modifications were made to the car. After the work was completed, it was used as a road-going car.

In 1986, the car was purchased by Mark Chmar, of Rittermark Porsche in Savannah, Georgia, and then it was offered for sale through Nick Soprano, eventually taking residence with Raymond Perroud, who returned the Porsche to Continental Europe. The car would remain in Perroud's collection for nearly two decades before being sold to the previous Swiss owner. During this ownership, the car was completely restored. The work reportedly cost $800,000, on the full restoration and preparation.

The current owner has campaigned the car at the 2012 Silver Flag event in Vernasca, where it won the prize for the best GT-category car. The car received a new FIVA Identity Card in April 2014, and in May 2014 it was shown at Villa d'Este.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2015