Porsche 904/6 - 1965

In the early 1960s, Porsche decided that in order to remain competitive within the GT category (in which the 356 had competed), it needed a new car that was more suited to racing. The company therefore initiated the 904 project, which, with the aim of replacing the 550 and 718 Sport models, faced the challenge of production volume. The regulations required at least 100 units to be manufactured during the year. This condition affected the project, leading to the introduction of plastic and fibreglass bodywork on a ladder-type chassis rather than a tubular one. Towards the end of the model's life, Porsche experimented with 6-cylinder and then 8-cylinder engines in a few units, but these cars could only be homologated in the Prototype category.

The 904/6, manufactured in six units with chassis numbers already marked with the prefix 906, made its debut at the 1,000 km of Paris at the end of 1964, just a few months ahead of the new 911, with which it shared its engine, competing in its first Monte Carlo Rally. Its Parisian debut was less than glorious: drivers Gerhard Mitter and Herbert Linge were forced to withdraw. On the April 1965 test drive at Le Mans, the same drivers finished in tenth place. Then, on the second weekend of May, Linge, this time partnered with Umberto Maglioli, secured the car's first podium finish with a third place at the Targa Florio. In the next race, the 1,000 km Nürburgring, Porsche entered three units of the 904/6, taking fifth, sixth and ninth places respectively in the overall standings. In June, as the countdown to the 24 Hours of Le Mans was drawing to a close, hill climb specialist Gerhard Mitter drove the 6-cylinder car to second place in the Mont Ventoux hill climb, the second event in the European Hill Climb Championship, just behind Hans Herrmann's Fiat Abarth 2000 Sport.

Two weeks later, at Le Mans, the official Porsche Racing Team entered two 904/6s and an 8-cylinder prototype with Mitter at the wheel, alongside two 904/4s, and a number of privately-owned cars. The race was marked by a considerable number of withdrawals, including the 904/8, however, two of the 904s remained in the race providing stiff competition for the Ferrari 250 LM (in the under 4-litre category), the 275 GTB and the 365 P2. The 6-cylinder 904 with Herbert Linge and Peter Nöcker finished just off the podium behind three Ferraris, taking first place in the under-two-litre Prototype category, an achievement for which it won the Performance Index classification.

This competition sets a minimum number of laps to be completed and an average minimum result for each category, on the basis of which a ranking is drawn up for all cars in the race, with the aim of determining which car has overtaken the most. The 904/6 was replaced by the 906, but still made a few appearances between 1966 and 1969. The car took third place at Hockenheim in December 1967 and scored a victory at the Santa Barbara circuit in the American SCCA Regional Championship the following year.

Passed away in 2024, Herbert Linge's career (which began in 1952) was marked by his participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he raced from 1958 to 1970, always in a Porsche and often as part of the official team. His best overall finish was fourth place in 1965, though he also claimed numerous class victories, most notably in 1960 and 1961 while driving Abarth-tuned Porsche 356 GTLs in the GT under 1.6-litre class, finishing tenth overall on both occasions.

His last race, in 1970, was behind the wheel of the Porsche 908/02 used as a camera car for filming Steve McQueen's movie and therefore not classified. Fellow countryman Peter Nöcker did not enjoy such a long career: having started in 1956, it ended in 1968. He achieved his greatest successes at the wheel of Jaguar Mark II and E-Type models and Ferrari 250 GTs in touring car competitions. With the latter, he won several circuit races between 1961 and 1963, taking the European Touring Car Championship title that final year.