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Porsche Carrera GTS - Plastic surgery

Name: Porsche 904 1963
Brand: Porsche

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Created on October 29, 2021

Text:

Karl Ludvigsen (Übersetzung: Paul Krüger)

Photos:

Ludvigsen Partners

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Ludvigsen Partners

Archiv

Freshly completed Porsche 904 Carrera GTS in the colors blue, red and white in 1963 in the yard of Plant 1 between new 356 C

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One of the Porsche 904 prototypes - recognizable by the side air intake without a hood - in the entrance to the new multi-storey Porsche headquarters in front of a stately row of Porsche 356s

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The 904 prototype at the presentation on the Solitude race track. Behind it are potential customers and journalists

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The body of the Carrera GTS offered good access from all sides. The rear section could also be completely removed for major operations

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Meeting of international Porsche dealers in Zuffenhausen at the end of 1963. Ferry Porsche is sitting on the fender of the Carrera GTS, with Max Hoffman to his left and Huschke von Hanstein to his right - behind the car

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Porsche Carrera GTS Type 904 (1963) - the prototype in the snow, November 1963

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A view of a prototype by Theo Page from 1963, clearly showing the position of the oil cooler and spare wheel as well as the two universal joints in the steering column

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The wheel suspensions of the type 904: on the left the rear axle with the inverted wishbone, on the right the front axle with the steering arm pointing forwards

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This highly simplified sectional view of the side view clearly shows where the frame cross members run

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The frame loop around the gearbox, which was intended to support the body, made it difficult to change the gearbox ratios on the prototypes. It was modified for the production cars.

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Originally planned with a six-cylinder engine, the Carrera GTS went into series production with the final expansion stage of the Fuhrmann Type 587/3 engine. Later, six and eight-cylinder engines were also fitted

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A striking detail in the interior of the prototype is the three-passage shape of the instrument panel. The rest looks quite close to series production.

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The standard 904 has its instruments on a simple oval. Remarkable in connection with Porsche's own legend spinning: as a racing sports car, the 904 has the ignition lock to the right of the steering wheel

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Aerodynamic rear of the Porsche 904, here with additional spoiler attached

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Porsche Carrera GTS Type 904 (1963) - the prototype

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The Porsche 904 gave Butzi Porsche the unique opportunity to create a completely new car with the support of Gerhard Schröder and model maker Heinrich Klie

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To test the accident safety of the Porsche 904, Porsche opted for a pragmatic solution using gravity and a crane truck

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Under the front hood of the Carrera GTS, in addition to the fuel tank and spare wheel, there are also the on-board tools and the brake fluid reservoirs

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View of the assembly hall at Porsche in 1964: just one Porsche 904 is built here every day

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Wedding in Stuttgart: After the bodies have been painted and pre-assembled at Heinkel, they receive their engine, gearbox and chassis in Zuffenhausen

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Carrera GTS bodyshell with mounted Fuhrmann engine. Interesting: the ignition coils on the left in the side box

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A Porsche 904 with the drive unit already fitted. The frame loop around the gearbox, modified for series production, is clearly visible here

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Not an art installation: three Porsche 904 rear ends await assembly here

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Two 904 gearboxes ready for installation. The clutch bell probably contains the corresponding routing slip.

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The Porsche 904 GTS body is created from these individual parts, which are later glued and screwed together. Here, the assembly with the seat shells is being held over the substructure for demonstration purposes

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This is what it looks like when the seat floor assembly and body substructure of the Porsche 904 GTS are joined together

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The roof frame of the Carrera GTS. It would be impossible to press such a part from sheet metal in one piece.

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Carcass of the interior of the Porsche 904 GTS, already with cut-outs for the instruments, ignition lock and wiper switch

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Body production of the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS at Heinkel in Speyer. Here you can see the molds for the front section and roof

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The hand lay-up process for the Porsche 904: First the glass fleece is cut to size...

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...and then saturated with liquid synthetic resin using a brush.

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Here, the shredded synthetic fiber is sprayed onto the Porsche 904 body with a gun. The gun has one nozzle each for polyester resin, synthetic fiber and hardener.

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Daytona 1966: When Joe Buzzetta (at the rear in the white overall) and Gerhard Mitter win their class, the Carrera GTS is already a discontinued model

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Joe Buzzetta and Gerhard Mitter finish seventh overall in the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona with chassis 005 and win the class for sports cars with a displacement of up to two liters. Nascar boss Bill France congratulates

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This Porsche Carrera GTS bears the same livery as the car used by Buzzetta and Mitter in the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona

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Colin Davis and Antonio Pucci won the 1964 Targa Florio in the Porsche Carrera GTS. This is the same car that won its class at Daytona in 1966

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Argentinians Andrea Vianni and Nasif Moisé finished tenth overall with the Porsche 904 in the 1964 1000-kilometer race at the Nürburgring

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This Carrera GTS was equipped with the 270 hp eight-cylinder Type 771/1 in 1965, recognizable by the widened rear fenders and the larger side air scoop

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Sebring 1964: Briggs Cunningham and Lake Underwood win the prototype class up to three liters in the Porsche Carrera GTS

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Sebring 1965: Lake Underwood and Günther Klass transform the Porsche 904 into a speedboat

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Vienna-Aspern airfield race 1965: Gerhard Mitter wins in a Porsche Carrera GTS

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Light figure: In this picture, Porsche dramatized the new body material for the Porsche 904 with appropriate lighting

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This late Carrera GTS already has triangular windows and retractable side windows. The Nardi steering wheel has been retrofitted

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Ferdinand Alexander "Butzi" Porsche with the design model of the Carrera GTS - he later recalled with great satisfaction the work on the 904, which could be carried out in a short time and without major loops and interruptions

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When Peter Porsche was in charge of production, he had a Porsche 904 specially equipped for use on the road. Remarkable: the doors here only extend to the middle edge of the body instead of further down.

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Summary

Peugeot's intervention did not help. Today, the Porsche Carrera GTS is much better known under its development number 904 than under its official sales designation. The first Porsche with a plastic body was intended to redress the balance of power on the racetrack in the early 1960s, which had tipped in favor of the Italians. As a racing sports car that was only committed to winning, the Carrera GTS was a pure engineering product - and yet in the end it looked stunning. This article tells the story of the development of the Type 904 and shows it in many historic photos.

This article contains the following chapters

Lightweight construction and aerodynamics
A new material
The chassis
Metal backbone
An old acquaintance
The finished drive train
Final improvements
Start of series production
The 904 in racing action

Estimated reading time: 14min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The Type 904 was developed to hold its own on the racetrack against the increasing competition in the two-liter GT production car class. For the 1963 season, Abarth built the Abarth-Simca 2000 with a 192 hp DOHC four-cylinder engine. Alfa Romeo hoped to humiliate the Porsches with the new Giulia TZ. Reason enough for race director Huschke von Hanstein to initiate the development of a new competition Porsche for the World Sports Car Championship. From November 1962 - too late for the 1963 season - Porsche began developing the new GT racing car. The two-liter six-cylinder engine and the five-speed gearbox of the 356 successor Type 901, which was already under development, were planned for the drive system, except that the engine in the 904 - unlike in the planned road-going Porsche - was to be positioned in front of the rear axle. Porsche had previously always used this arrangement when a car had been developed primarily for racing. Like the 550 RS, however, the 904 was also intended to be roadworthy - the FIA regulations demanded it.

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