The Porsche 906 debuted in 1966 as an almost complete redesign of the earlier Porsche 904. Both vehicles were two seat homologation race cars intended for the 2.0 liter class, and both dominated in their respective eras.
The 906 was given a modified version of the 2.0 liter flat-six fitted to the Porsche 911, it had a new multi-tubular spaceframe chassis, and a fiberglass body that had been honed in a wind tunnel. Its primary competitor was to be the Ferrari Dino 206 P.
Fast Facts – The Porsche 906
- The Porsche 906, introduced in 1966, was developed to succeed the 904 and comply with Group 4 sports car class regulations. Designed under Ferdinand Piëch’s guidance, it utilized wind tunnel testing for aerodynamic efficiency, featuring a lightweight tubular space frame chassis and a fiberglass body.
- Powered by a 2.0-liter air-cooled flat-six engine sourced from the 911, the 906 boasted up to 210 bhp and top speeds of over 280 km/h (174 mph). It featured a 5-speed manual gearbox, disc brakes on all four corners, and race-tuned independent suspension.
- The 906 proved to be an instant success for Porsche, taking a class win at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona (6th overall), beating the Ferrari Dino 206 Ps. The list of successes would grow from there, with wins at the 1966 Targa Florio, a class win at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, further class wins at the Las Vegas Stardust and Laguna Seca USRRC races in 1966.
- The car you see here is a 1966 Porsche 906 Carrera 6 that was raced by Porsche works driver Sepp Greger to the 1966 2-Liter Class European Hillclimb Championship and the 1968 European Mountain Championship. It has been restored by a marque specialist, and is now due to cross the auction block with RM Sotheby’s with a price guide of $1,800,000 – $2,200,000 USD.
The Porsche 906 Carrera 6
In total, Porsche would make just 65 examples of the Carrera 6, of which 52 had the 2.0 liter flat-six engine that had been sourced from the Porsche 911 R before being reworked for more power. These were strictly homologation cars, Porsche was required to build 50 in order to qualify for the FIA’s new Group 4 Sports Car category, and each needed to be road legal with two functional seats.
Above Video: This clip from the 1980s TV series Miami Vice shows Crockett and Tubbs racing their Ferrari Daytona against a Porsche 906 on the streets of Miami at night. Of course, the Daytona in the series was a replica, it was actually a fiberglass body kit on a C3 Corvette.
A new tubular steel spaceframe chassis was developed for the new car, this frame was renowned for its rigidity and the improvements it offered over the earlier 904. A lightweight fiberglass body was then developed with the help of a wind tunnel, with a view to making it as aerodynamically efficient as possible at high speeds.
Power was provided by a specially modified version of the 2.0 liter flat-six used in the Porsche 911 R. This engine had a magnesium crankcase, titanium connecting rods, and a forged steel crankshaft. It was capable of 210 bhp at 8,000 rpm, a remarkable output for a 2.0 liter engine at the time, and enough to give the 580 kg (1,280 lb) Porsche 906 a top speed in excess of 280 km/h (174 mph).
It’s clear that Porsche had high-hopes for the new 906 Carrera 6 when the car debuted in 1966, but it’s unlikely they knew just how successful the car would be. At its first race, the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the Porsche 906 took a class win ahead of the Ferrari Dino 206 Ps.
That same year it would take outright victory at the Targa Florio, and other 906s would take class wins at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the 1000 km of Monza, 1000 km of Spa, and 1000 km of Nürburgring.
The full list of wins and class wins taken by the 906 is too long to include here in full, however it’s safe to say that it was one of the most dominant 2.0 liter class racing cars of its time.
Due to the low production number and the fact that some of the cars were lost to on-track accidents, the surviving 906s are now among the most sought after homologation race cars of their time – and they’re widely considered the most beautiful.
There can be little argument that this is one of the most beautiful race cars of its time, made all the more impressive by the fact that its era was dominated by some of the most beautiful cars ever made.
The 1966 Porsche 906 Carrera 6 Shown Here
The car you see here is a 1966 Porsche 906 Carrera 6, it was factory-finished in classic Signal Red paint and shod with Dunlop racing tires, then delivered in March of 1966 to Josef “Sepp” Greger, a Munich-based Volkswagen-Porsche dealer.
Greger was known for racing both Volkswagens and Porsches in many famous European hillclimbs and endurance events – he was so good that he sometimes served as a factory works team driver.
Greger personally raced this car from 1966 to late 1968, winning the 1966 2-Liter European Hillclimb Championship having taken 10 wins and a 2nd-place finish during that season’s 14 races. He then won the hotly contested 1968 European Mountain Championship, with 7 wins to his name.
All of this competition up at the pointy end of the field took its toll on the car, and as a result the worn out original engine needed to be replaced with a correct 906 replacement engine, number 906-162. The car was later sold on to another owner, and it would pass through a few hands, eventually racing in some 80 events and taking more class wins than almost any other 906.
As a homologation car, the 906 needed to be road legal and have two seats, and a minimum of 50 needed to be manufactured in order to qualify for the FIA’s Group 4 Sports Car category.
Eventually the car was given a full restoration by Porsche racecar specialist Kevin Jeanette, returning it almost exactly back to its original delivery configuration. As part of this restoration the car was given a correct 906 magnesium-case motor and a correct magnesium gearbox.
The car is now being offered for sale by RM Sotheby’s in Coral Gables, Florida with a price guide of $1,800,000 – $2,200,000 USD. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images: Brian Rozar ©2024 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
