1964 Porsche 904 GTS

Chassis No.

904-036

Documents

Swiss Carte Grise

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- A beautifully presented example of Porsche’s seminal racing sports car
- Delivered new to future Porsche factory driver Udo Schütz
- Raced in rounds of the 1964, 1965, and 1966 World Sportscar Championships
- Class winner of the 1965 Nürburgring 1000 km; later driven to 1st place at the 1966 Austrian Hillclimb Championship by Rudi Lins
- Continuous history from new, including ownership with Bobby Rahal
- Magnifique exemplaire de cette légendaire Porsche de compétition
- Livrée neuve à Udo Schütz, futur pilote d'usine Porsche
- A participé à plusieurs manches du Championnat International des Constructeurs en 1964, 1965, 1966
- Victorieuse de sa catégorie aux 1000 Km du Nürburgring 1965 ; vendue ensuite à Rudi Lins, Champion d'Autriche de la Montagne 1966
- Historique suivi depuis l'origine, dont une appartenance à Bobby Rahal

Despite the experience gained by Porsche while developing highly successful mid-engined racing sports cars such as the 550 and 718, the 904 GTS was an entirely new concept for the company. Designed by FA “Butzi” Porsche, the 904 had a body shape that was hugely advanced for the time, featuring a low-drag nose leading to a sleek roof line and ending with a Kamm tail. The chassis was of cutting-edge design, consisting of a steel frame strengthened with bonded fibreglass panels. The only major component of the 904 that was a mainstay of the factory racing programme was the Fuhrmann 587/3-type four-cam engine. Today Porsche is arguably the most successful manufacturer in sports car racing, and a decisive model for this success was the 904.

The ground-breaking 904 achieved a spectacular 1-2 finish at the 1964 Targa Florio, taking class wins at every major race during the 1964 and 1965 seasons due to a combination of outright speed and outstanding reliability. Thanks to the 904, Porsche won Division II of the World Sportscar Championship twice, and further contributed to the victorious 1966 campaign.

This car, chassis 904-036, was delivered on 27 February 1964, finished in Silver Metallic over Blue and specified with a sports exhaust. The first owner was a young Udo Schütz, a talented racer who would become a Porsche factory driver thanks to his performances in this 904. Less than two months after delivery, Schütz debuted his 904 in hill climbs, a discipline he would compete in regularly alongside the DARM Championship (German Circuit Championship), taking 10 overall or class victories during 1964 and 1965. His first appearance in the World Sportscar Championship would be at the 1964 Rossfeld Hillclimb, where Schütz achieved a 5th in class finish. On 1 August 1964, Schütz was racing this 904 in a support race for the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring when it left the track and rolled into the undergrowth. Despite the damage not looking severe, it is widely believed that the car was rebuilt at Porsche around a new chassis that was closer in specification to a 904/6.

Schütz’s next appearance in the World Sportscar Championship would be the pinnacle of this 904’s career at the 1965 Nürburgring 1000 km. Sharing with Anton Fischhaber, a Porsche factory driver, they crossed the line as the first privateer home behind Works entries from Ferrari, Porsche, and Shelby American, finishing 11th overall and 1st in the GT 2.0 class. Remarkably, the pair beat all of the Ferrari GT cars, including the factory 275 GTB Speciale, Sutcliffe’s 250 GTO, and all of the 250 LMs. Three weeks later, this 904 competed again at Rossfeld, finishing 8th overall and 5th in class—impressively ahead of the two Works Cobras.

After competing in 31 events with this 904, Schütz sold it during the winter of 1965/1966 to Austrian Rudi Lins. The 904 contested a similar mix of hill climbs and races, with the final appearance in the World Sportscar Championship coming at the 1966 Swiss Mountain GP, held at Sierre-Montana. Despite the 904 beginning to show its age, Lins finished a fine 5th overall and 2nd in class. Lins’ hillclimbing talents saw him be crowned 1966 Austrian Mountain Champion.

In 1967, this 904 was sold to Werner Frank of South Elgin, Illinois. Frank teamed up with Horst Kwech for the Porsche’s last contemporary race at the USRRC Road America 500, where it finished 9th overall. Between 1969 and 2001 the car had four US owners, before passing to racing legend Bobby Rahal. Prior to Rahal’s ownership the machine had been fully restored, and it was subsequently race prepared in order to contest the 2002 editions of the Tour Auto and Le Mans Classic. It was then purchased by the previous owner, a well-known historic racer, who competed with it at the 2018 Le Mans Classic. Following this event, it passed into current ownership in 2019.

Few 904s have such a remarkable period history as this giant-killing example, and an even smaller number can claim such unbroken history and outstanding provenance of chassis 036. Presented in beautiful condition, this 904 is ready to be enjoyed at some of the finest historic events in the world or displayed at major concours.

table.tableizer-table td { padding: 4px;} 1964 Porsche 904-036 Results Race Date Driver Overall Finish Class Finish Bad Neuenahr Teufelsbergrennen April 12, 1964 Udo Schütz - 5th Eberbach Bergrennen April 19, 1964 Udo Schütz - 3rd Taunas Bergrennen April 26, 1964 Udo Schütz - 2nd DARM GT Trier - GT2.5 May 3, 1964 Udo Schütz 3rd 3rd Wallbergrennen May 24, 1964 Udo Schütz - 2nd Internationaler Alpen-Bergpreis Rossfeld June 7, 1964 Udo Schütz 12th 5th DARM GT Mainz-Finthen - GT+1.6 June 14, 1964 Udo Schütz 3rd 3rd Spessart Bergrennen June 28, 1964 Udo Schütz - 1st DARM GT Norisring - GT+1.6 July 5, 1964 Udo Schütz 4th 3rd Wolfsfeld Bergrennen July 26, 1964 Udo Schütz - 1st DARM GT Nürburgring Rheinland-Pfalz Preis August 1, 1964 Udo Schütz DNF - Wasgau Bergrennen August 23, 1964 Udo Schütz - 1st Timmelsjoch Bergrennen September 15, 1964 Udo Schütz - 2nd Nürburgring Rheinland September 20, 1964 Udo Schütz 1st 1st Pries von Tirol, Innsbruck - Sports October 4, 1964 Udo Schütz 5th 3rd Pries von Tirol, Innsbruck - GT October 4, 1964 Udo Schütz 2nd 3rd Bad Neuenahr Bergrennen April 11, 1965 Udo Schütz - - DARM GT Nürburgring - GT2.5 May 9, 1965 Udo Schütz 1st 1st Eberbach Bergrennen May 16, 1965 Udo Schütz - 2nd Nürburgring 1000 kms May 23, 1965 Udo Schütz/Anton Fischhaber 11th 1st Internationaler Alpen-Bergpreis Rossfeld June 13, 1965 Udo Schütz 8th 5th Wasgau Bergrennen June 20, 1965 Udo Schütz - 1st DARM GT Avus - GT June 27, 1965 Udo Schütz - 1st DARM GT Norisring - GT2.5 July 4, 1965 Udo Schütz 3rd 3rd DARM GT Mainz-Finthen - GT2.0 July 11, 1965 Udo Schütz 1st 1st DARM GT Mainz-Finthen - Sports July 11, 1965 Udo Schütz 2nd 1st DARM GT Solitude July 18, 1965 Udo Schütz DNF - DARM GT Trier - GT2.5 July 24, 1965 Udo Schütz 1st 1st Nürburgring Rheinland-Pfalz Preis August 1, 1965 Udo Schütz 2nd 2nd DARM GT Wunstorf - GT2.0 October 3, 1965 Udo Schütz 1st 1st Pries von Tirol, Innsbruck - GT October 10, 1965 Udo Schütz 3rd 3rd Aspern - GT October 17, 1965 Udo Schütz DNF - Braunsbergrennen April 3, 1966 Rudi Lins - 1st Gaisbergrennen May 1, 1966 Rudi Lins - 2nd Rossfeld Bergrennen June 12, 1966 Rudi Lins 9th 4th Axamer Lizum Bergrennen June 26, 1966 Rudi Lins 1st 1st Stubenbergrennen July 3, 1966 Rudi Lins - 1st Cesana-Sestriere Cronoscalata July 24, 1966 Rudi Lins 8th 4th Sierre Montana - Swiss Mountain GP August 28, 1966 Rudi Lins 5th 2nd Zeltweg 500 kms September 11, 1966 Rudi Lins DNA - Steinbock Bergrennen September 18, 1966 Rudi Lins 2nd - Tulln-Langenlebarn - Sports October 2, 1966 Rudi Lins 6th 6th Pries von Tirol, Innsbruck - Sports October 9, 1966 Rudi Lins 6th 5th Aspern - Sports October 16, 1966 Rudi Lins 9th 2nd USRRC Road America 500 July 30, 1967 Werner Frank/Horst Kwech 9th 5th

Malgré l'expérience engrangée par Porsche au cours de la mise au point de ses brillantes machines de course à moteur central comme les 550 et 718, la 904 GTS correspondait pour le constructeur à un concept entièrement nouveau. Conçue par FA “Butzi” Porsche, la 904 présentait un dessin qui était extrêmement en avance sur son temps, avec un avant effilé qui se poursuivait sur un pavillon profilé et se terminait à l'arrière par un pan coupé Kamm. Bénéficiant d'une conception avant-gardiste, la voiture était constituée d'une structure en acier renforcée par des panneaux en fibre de verre. Le seul composant important de la 904 qui était aussi un élément fondamental du programme de course de l'usine était le moteur quatre arbres type 587/3 Fuhrmann. Aujourd'hui, Porsche est un des constructeurs les plus titrés de l'histoire du sport automobile, et la 904 a participé à ce succès de façon décisive.

Ainsi, l'étonnante 904 a signé un doublé spectaculaire à la Targa Florio 1964, tout en remportant la victoire de sa catégorie aux principales épreuves des saisons 1964 et 1965 grâce à ses performances élevées et sa fiabilité exemplaire. La 904 a permis à Porsche de remporter deux fois la Division 2 (GT de 1 300 à 2 000 cm3) du Championnat International des Constructeurs, tout en contribuant au titre de 1966.

Cette voiture, châssis 904-036, a été livrée neuve le 27 février 1964, de couleur gris métallisé avec intérieur bleu et commandée avec un échappement sport. Le premier propriétaire était le jeune Udo Schütz, pilote talentueux qui allait être plus tard engagé par l'usine grâce à ses performances avec cette 904. Moins de deux mois après avoir pris livraison de sa voiture, Udo Schütz a effectué ses premières sorties en course de côte, discipline à laquelle il allait participer régulièrement, parallèlement au Championnat DARM (Championnat d'Allemagne des Circuits), remportant 10 victoires de catégorie ou au classement général en 1964 et 1965. Sa première apparition au Championnat International des Constructeurs a eu lieu lors de la course de côte de Rossfeld où Schütz a terminé cinquième. Le 1er août 1964, il a participé à une...