For Sale: 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS

Image thanks to RM Auctions, by Cymon Taylor

This 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS is not only breathtakingly beautiful. It’s also fast, storied and a key to pretty much any historic racing event you can imagine. It’ll head to auction at RM Auctions’ Paris Sale on the 4th of February.

Chassis 904-026 was delivered to Rittersbacher, a Porsche dealer in Kaiserslautern, Germany, in February of 1964. It only took until April to sell, with successful racer Fritz Leinenweber purchasing it for competition and quickly making a name for himself in the car.

His first stop was the Hunstrück Bergrennen Revival in August of 1964, where he won the GT class, set the best overall time and set a new hill record. From there his trophy shelf filled quickly, with class wins at Bergrennen Happerg, Course de Côte d’Urcy and Bergrennen in Luxemburg, as well as a 5th overall at the Course de Côte Merveilleuse. Victory in the GT class at the Vergrennen Viaden would follow and the pair would close out the year at Bergrennen Taubensulh with an overall win on the way to a new course record.

The pair kicked off 1965 with a full head of steam, claiming second in class and fourth overall at the Bergrennen Kautenbach.

Leinenweber sold the car after the Bergrennen Kautenbach to another talented racer – Michel Weber. Weber bought the car to win the 1965 German Hill Climb Championship, and win he did – part of a three-way tie with Reinhold Joest and Siegfried Spiess.

Along the way the pair would take several class and overall wins and a few track records. They even scored points in the European Hill Climb Championship and beat out Works Porsche and Ferrari entries at events like the Bergpreis Freiburg-Schauinsland and a famous performance in a treacherous Bergpreis Rhön at the end of the year.

Shifting his attention to Le Mans, Weber would race the 904 in the 1000 Kilometers of Monza alongside future 24 Hours of Daytona winner Jochen Neerpasch. The Porsche 904’s GT class homologation had run out by the start of the 1966 season putting the team into some fierce competition in the sports car field. This meant racing Ford GT40s, Ferrari 250 LMs and a Ferrari 330 P3.

Nevertheless, they qualified well out front in their class, before unfortunately retiring with engine troubles. It would be Weber’s last event in the car, trading it in for an ex-Works 904/6.

That didn’t mean 904-026 was due for a break, however, and it was bought by Armando Capriles who, along with Alfredo Atencio, raced it in Venezuela in ’66 and ’67. From there Flavio Espino purchased it, racing it at Road Atlanta, now with a six-cylinder engine.

When it next popped up for sale it was 1973 and the car was fitted with a new factory four-cam Type 587/3 engine. It sold to Jim Wayman and went to Hawaii. After close to ten years of competition Wayman decided that the car was in need of some love, painting the bodywork Ruby Red.

Its globetrotting continued at the end of 1975 when it moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, then again a year later when it moved to Nebraska. The new owner, John Robbins, refitted correct pedals, taillights and front indicator lights along with a few other modifications. He used it as a road car, selling it in 1986 and seeing it return to Europe.

This ushered in a quieter time in 904-026’s life, with Raymond Perroud keeping it in his collection for close to two decades.

Its next owner would have the car meticulously restored by Raceline Feustel GmbH. This work addressed every aspect of the car and was done to exacting standards – so much so that the original bench on which the first 904 chassis were assembled was used.

Its current owner bought the car recently, entering it in the 2014 Silver Flag event in Vernasca, where it won best GT-category car. It was also shown at Villa d’Este in 2014. The car now has a new FIVA Identity Card.

This beautiful machine is a wonderful example of Porsche’s 904, with an interesting and successful racing history. With that recent restoration it’s in stunning shape and would make a brilliant car to get involved in any aspect of the historic motorsport scene.

It’s heading up for sale at RM Auctions’ Paris sale on the 4th of February, 2014 at Place Vauban. Hit this link to RM Auctions’ website for more information.

Image thanks to RM Auctions, by Cymon Taylor