Porsche 904 Spyder (1965)

Premiere: May 9, 1965, Targa Florio

1965 May 9, Targa Florio, 904 Spyder chassis 906-008 © unknown (please inform if you know)

Engine: Porsche type 771, 2.0-litre flat-8, 191 kW

For 1965 racing season Porsche built five 904 Spyders for its own use - chassis 906-003, -004, -007, -008 and -009. All 904 spyders had 8-cylinder 2-litre engines. There were two body variants, the 003, 004 and 009 cars had natural Spyder look as you would expect from a Porsche of that era, while the 007 and 008 had not so pleasing design. To increase cornering capability in hillclimbing, the overhangs were shortened. While the spyder-version of the 904 has often been called as a Bergspyder, it was not just used for hillclimbing. The spyders also got nicknamed as 'kangaroo' because of the roadholding - the lightweight cars with stiff suspensions jumped on bad roads.

The first racing event for the 904 Spyder was 1965 Targa Florio held on May 9.

1965 Targa Florio: the Porsche factory team has arrived. The headlamps of the 904 Spyder could be popped out when needed - a feature that would be seen 12 years later on a Porsche 928. © Porsche

1965 Targa Florio, 904 Spyder #182© unknown (please inform if you know)

The 904 Spyder #182 (chassis 906-008) driven by Gerhard Mitter/Colin Davis is victorious in 2-litre prototype class and scores 2nd overall after a 3.3-litre Ferrari.

The Targa Florio 904 Spyder chassis 906-008 does not exist anymore (was destroyed at 1965 Cesana-Sestriere Hillclimb)© Porsche

The sister car to the Targa Florio runner-up was chassis 906-007. Factory team entered it only twice - at the Rossfeld hill climb and Norisring racing event. Gerhard Mitter won both. The car was then sold on to private driver, while the Targa Florio car was totalled at the Cesana-Sestriere Hillclimb.

Then there were the more beautiful 904 Spyders, chassis 906-003, -004 and -009. The 003 was the first one taken to the event - the 1965 Nürburgring 1000 km - but was completely crashed at the practise.

904 Spyder, probably chassis 906-004 or -009© Porsche

The 906-004 car is entered into a 2-litre prototype race on Solitude on July 18, 1965 and wins it driven by Gerhard Mitter.

1965 July 18, Solitude, 2-litre prototype race winner Gerhard Mitter, 904 Spyder chassis 906-004© unknown (please inform if you know)

The last event where the factory team entered 904 Spyders was Schauinsland Hillclimb on August 8, 1965. Ludovico Scarfiotti won the event for Ferrari and Gerhard Mitter scored second just 1.9 seconds behind in a 904 Spyder, chassis 906-004. The other 904 Spyder, chassis 906-009, was on its first race, but was destroyed.

Continue to Porsche 906

Anniversaries: May, 20 – 59th birthday of the 804 (1962); May, 26 – 64th birthday of the 718 (1957); May, 31 – 68th birthday of the 550 (1953); Jun, 08 – 73rd birthday of the 356 (1948); Jun, 11 – 49th birthday of the first Turbo-Porsche (1972)