Imagine my delight, when on the first day of riding to my place of money making, 15km away from home, at 5:30 in the morning (I've misplaced my licence remember...) I stare longingly into the not-yet-open Porsche dealership, and see one that I have never seen nor heard of in my life! Surprise and shock of horrors, followed quickly by much delight :P The car I spotted was this:
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| 1964 Porsche 904/Carrera GTS |
These pictures were taken from the return journey home later that day when I could not resist going into the dealership and finding out what this car was and importantly, why I had never known about it... Turns out it's part of a private collection that exists in Brisbane, the owner/collector likes to remain anonymous and the Sales Manager would not entertain any requests to contact him for a story: understandable. He also owns a Porsche 356 in exquisite showroom condition, as well as a Carrera GT, Porsche 959 (two exceptionally rare Porsche's in Australia and very expensive), and I've reason to believe a Jaguar XJ220 among other serious names in the stable.
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| Porsche 356 |
Back to the Porsche 904, or the Carrera GTS is the name it was actually sold under due to the same naming rights problems that had the originally intended Porsche 901's, be changed to the infamous Porsche 911. It was Peugeot who objected as they claimed to have the naming rights for using 0's in the middle of a models' name. Another interesting fact in Porsche's history that I have only just learnt for myself!
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| The Original Porsche Carrera GTS |
Porsche retired from Formula 1 racing in 1962, and keen to focus once more on SportsCar racing they came up with this 904 which debuted in late 1963. Officially produced in the years of 1964 and 1965 for the street-legal versions, they only ever sold 106 of these even though claims suggest the public would have loved some more.
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| Left-hand drive as they were never released in Australia |
The mid-engined layout inherited the same power-plant from the factory's leading race car of the time: the 718, which was a 1,966cc (2.0 Litre) flat four-cylinder engine producing (148kw) and has been doted as "probably the most complex four-cylinder ever" in a 1987 publication of Porsche Magazine. These cars enjoyed phenomenal success, often finishing ahead of cars with much more power. They are renowned for their durability, and "almost always" finished even the most arduous endurance events. In the 1964 LeMans Race, of the 5 starters racing in a Porsche 904, all finished and placed in the top twelve overall. Perhaps most amazingly is an account of one customers street-legal versions being driven straight to the track and raced; the car performed without a hitch and went on to win the event at Reims.
I've not got a lot of time left, so I will leave you with some images of the beautiful and immaculate Porsche 356 :) Thanks so much for reading and have yourself an incredible day!
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| Rear of the Porsche 356 |
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| Beautiful Rims on the 356 |
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| Lovely Interior |
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| Simplistic and elegant detailing |
Nice write up.
ReplyDeleteThought you would be interested to know that this Porsche 904 recently sold for the equivalent of AUD $1.9 million.
https://www.rmauctions.com/results/result.cfm?SaleCode=PA14
Other cars sold on the day from this private collection include (in $AUD);
- Lola Mk3 B Coupe - $250,000 (more or less a replica due to so many rebuilds over the years).
- 750 Monza Ferrari - $2.9 million .
- Porsche "Rothmans" 956 - $3.5 million.
- Jaguar D Type - $5.57 million.
- Porsche 917-30 - Did not sell, highest bid of $3 million.
It's a shame our tax laws are forcing so many of these special cars to be sold off overseas, with them highly unlikely to return.
You were lucky to see this car up close in the showroom.