Porsche 906 Carrera 6 1966

As the link between the 904 and later models such as the 910, 907, 908 and 936, the 906 marks an important milestone in Porsche racing history. Designed as an evolution of the six-cylinder 904/6, by developing either the engine itself or the chassis structure, this car had to contend with rivals such as the Ferrari Dino V6. The car's development made it essential for it to compete in two categories, because for its first season, 1966, it was initially entered as a Prototype, until the 50 units required for Sport homologation had been produced. Once this homologation had been obtained, the 906's first official achievement was its victory in the 1966 Targa Florio.

The 906, also known as the Carrera 6 in reference to its six-cylinder engine, made its debut at the 1966 Daytona 24 Hours, where the official car finished in sixth place overall and first in the two-litre class, also beating the Ferrari Dino 206 P. This new car, which rapidly grew in numbers, achieved comparable results, with class wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 1000 km of Monza and then the Nürburgring. Production of the 50 cars required for homologation in the Sport category was completed by the end of April, enabling Porsche to take part in the International Constructors' Championship, reserved for Group 6 Sport-Prototypes, and the International Sports Car Championship in Group 4. The 906, whose two-litre engine placed it in the upper division of Group 6 (‘less than two litres’) and in the middle division of Group 4 (‘1.3 to 2 litres’), could therefore take part in both championships.

However, at Targa Florio, the ten or so entries on the grid were all Sports cars, divided between those of the official team and those of the private teams. Their opponents were the customary Ferraris, starting with the 330 P3 of defending champions Lorenzo Bandini and Nini Vaccarella, who were forced to retire two laps before the finish due to a mistake by Bandini which resulted in them leaving the track. Close behind them were two 906s, but the car crossing the finish line first was not an ‘official’ one: it was the n°148 of the Swiss-German Filipinetti team, with the Belgian Willy Mairesse and the German Herbert Müller at the wheel. The duo finished well ahead of the Ferrari Dino 206 S of Jean Guichet and Giancarlo Baghetti, who were themselves just ahead of the ‘official’ Porsche 906 of Antonio Pucci and Vincenzo Arena.

[AT LE MANS IN 1966, THE 906 WON TWO CLASSES].

An army of 906s took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, again in both classes, where the teams of Jo Siffert/Colin Davis and Günter Klass/Rolf Stommelen classified first in their respective classes (Prototypes up to 2 litres and Sport from 1.3 to 2 litres), while finishing fourth and seventh, but most importantly first and last in a fleet of four 906s. The career of the model continued, ending in the early 1970s with further successes, including the 1967 1000 km of Suzuka won by Japanese drivers Shintaro Taki and Kenjiro Tanaka.

Belgian Willy Mairesse's career in endurance racing (below) was intertwined with his less successful career in Formula 1: driving single-seaters, mainly Ferraris, he made around ten starts between 1960 and 1965, with his best result being third place at Monza in his first season. Before winning the Targa Florio in the Sport category, he took third place at Monza in 1959 and two second places: one at the 1961 Le Mans 24 Hours (with Mike Parkes in a Ferrari 250 TRI) and one at the 1963 Sebring 12 Hours. His career ended in 1968 at Le Mans after a serious accident, the after-effects and consequences of which led to his suicide the following year. For the Swiss Herbert Müller, the world of Endurance proved to be better than Formula 1, where he only spent one season. His greatest successes came in the Le Mans 24 Hours, where he finished second overall in 1971 and 1974 in Porsche 917s and 911 RSRs, and first (in class) in 1979 with Angelo Pallavicini and Marco Vanoli in Porsche 934s.