Porsche 904 Carrera GTS

A Porsche 904 Carrera GTS Coupé in 1963 outside the factory in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. The early version had a slatted air intake behind the doors, this being replaced by scoops which were more efficient

The Porsche Carrera GTS represented a watershed in the company’s march towards motorsport fulfilment. Gone was the space frame and aluminium construction of the 550s, the Type 904 ushered in a completely new way of thinking. Porsche Road & Race investigates…

The Porsche Carrera GTS, or Type 904 to give it its internal company designation, marked the biggest change in direction in Porsche’s motor sport philosophy up to that point and for the next two decades, until the introduction of the 956 in 1982. Increased competition from Alfa and the Fiat Abarths in the FIA 2-litre GT class in the early 1960s, is seen as the inspiration for a new race car, in what Porsche regarded as its domain.