Porsche 904

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The Porsche 904 is an automobile which was produced by Porsche in Germany in 1963 and 1965. It was officially called Porsche Carrera GTS due to the same naming rights problem that required renaming the Porsche 901 to Porsche 911. After having withdrawn from Formula One at the end of the 1962 season, Porsche focused again on sports-car racing. The 904 debuted late in 1963, for the 1964 racing season, as a successor to the 718, which had been introduced in 1957. Porsche designed the GTS variant to compete in the FIA-GT class at various international racing events. The street-legal version debuted in 1964 in order to comply with group 3 appendix J homologation regulations requiring a certain number of road-going variants be sold by the factory. Several versions were made, including one with a flat six engine and a flat eight engine.

Porsche 904 Basics

Manufacturer: Porsche / Production Years: 1964–1965 / Production: 120 units / Assembly: Germany: Stuttgart, Zuffenhausen / Designer: Ferdinand Alexander Porsche / Body style: 2-door coupe, 2-door roadster (Bergspyder) / Layout: Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout / Engine: 2.0 L Flat 4, 2.0 L Flat 6 (904/6), 2.0 L Flat 8 (904/8 & Bergspyder ) / Dimensions: Wheelbase: 90.5 in (2,300 mm), Height: 42 in (1,100 mm)

Porsche 904 - The Story

The history, updates and story behind the Porsche 904.

Porsche 904 – The Story

Porsche’s Type 904, officially called the Carrera GTS because Porsche and Peugeot were in dispute over numeric designations with “0” in them, succeeded the RSK Type 718 as the last sports-racing iteration of the 356 series.

Porsche 904 Variant Guides

The Porsche 904 was produced by Porsche in 1964 and 1965. It was officially called Porsche Carrera GTS due to the same naming rights problem that required renaming the Porsche 901 to Porsche 911. Built for racing, the Porsche 904 spawned several models, largely differentiated by their engine.

Porsche 904 Carrera GTS (1963 – 1964)

The Porsche 904 debuted late in 1963, for the 1964 racing season. Porsche designed the 1965 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS variant to compete in the FIA-GT class at various international racing events and a street-legal version debuted in 1964 in order to comply with FIA’s Group 3 homologation regulations. When the 904 Carrera GTS debuted, it represented Porsche’s first foray into fiberglass bodywork and the last hurrah for its four-cam, four-cylinder engine.

Porsche 904/6 Carrera GTS (1964 – 1965)

In 1965, the 904’s second and final production year, some examples received a version of the 911’s 2.0-liter flat-six. This version was dubbed the 904/6 and was focused on the factory works effort by Porsche. Six of these cars were so equipped and used a chassis number of 906-0xx. Porsche built a total of six similar 904/6 Works team cars with the following chassis number assignments: 906-001, 002, 005, 006, 011, and 012.

Porsche 904/8 Carrera GTS (1964 – 1965)

Three factory race cars were fitted with a flat eight-cylinder power plant derived from the 1962 804 F1 car, the 225 hp (168 kW) 1,962 cc (119.7 cu in) Type 771, which used 42 mm (1.7 in)-throat downdraft Weber carburetors. The Type 771s, however, suffered a "disturbing habit" of making their flywheels explode. The 904/8 cars had a short and relatively unlucky racing career.

Porsche 904 Bergspyder (1965 – 1966)

For the underpinnings of the new 904 Bergspyder, the Porsche engineers recycled five chassis originally laid down for a production version of the six-cylinder 904/6 Coupes. The steel platform chassis of the 904 was reinforced with cross-braces to compensate for the rigidity that had originally been provided by the coupe body. The Bergspyders were tried with both the exotic twin-cam eight-cylinder engine and a highly tuned flat six.

Porsche 904 Specifications & Performance

Below we have outlined a basic overview of some key specifications for the Porsche 904 models.

Data	904/4 Carrera GTS	904/6 Carrera GTS	904/8 Carrera GTS	904 Bergspyder
Produced in	1963-1964	1964-1965	1964 - 1965	1965 - 1966
Engine	2.0 L Type 587/3 Flat 4	2.0 L Type 901/20 Flat 6	2.0 L Type 771/0 Flat 8	2.0 L Type 771/0 Flat 8
Displacement (cc)	1966 cc	1991 cc	1981 cc	1981 cc
Output (bhp/litre)	91.6	105	121.0	121.0
Power	180 bhp @ 7200 rpm	200 bhp	240 bhp @ 8700 rpm	240 bhp @ 8700 rpm
Top Speed (mph)	163 mph	N/A	161 mph	161 mph
Number of cars built	106 units	6 units	3 units	5 units
Chassis numbers	904-002...007, 904-010...108	904-001, 906-001...002, 906-005...006, 906-011...012	904-008, 009, maybe 082	906-003, -004, -007, -008 and -009

Porsche 904 Data & Research

We dig into some of the data surrounding the Porsche 904, including production numbers, specifications, chassis numbers and much more.

Porsche 904/8 Carrera GTS – Specifications & Performance

Porsche 904 Bergspyder – Specifications & Performance

Porsche 904 Carrera GTS – Specifications & Performance

Porsche 904 Pictures, Galleries & Wallpapers

Call us biased, but we think the Porsche 904 is one of the sexiest cars of all time. These galleries prove it.

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Porsche 904 Videos

Experience the Porsche 904 in these engaging and fun videos.

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Porsche 904

The Ultimate Model Guide

Porsche 904 Basics

Porsche 904 - The Story

Porsche 904 Variant Guides

Porsche 904 Specifications & Performance

Porsche 904 Data & Research

Porsche 904 Pictures, Galleries & Wallpapers

Porsche 904 Videos

Porsche 904 News & Updates

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