1964 Porsche 904/8 Pilots: C Daves, G. Mitter Team: Porsche System Engineering Race: DNF (class P 2.0) at Le Mans in 1964 Spark - S3436 (resin)
Published 06/11/17
With the rush to get the 904 into production for the 1964 race season, there was no time for a new engine. With that, Porsche modified the 4 cylinder used on the 356 Carrera 2 (called Type 587/3). So that was the engine used in the homologated 904/4 GTS. However, even after receiving the homologation, Porsche continued evolving the 904. For the 24 Heures du Mans of 1964 Porsche System Engineering had three cars in the race. Of these, two cars sported a version of the Type 753 Formula 1 engine. This new engine, called Type 771, was a flat-8 with 2195 cm³ capable of 272 hp. More powerful than the Type 587/3, but unfortunately not as reliable. Even so, Porsche thought that the extra ponies justified the gamble.
Not counting the possible reliability issues, the Typ 771 also presented another problem. With all the haste, the engine was not an homologated engine. Therefore, both cars, now called 904/8, had to race in the under-3 l Prototype class. And their the competition was stiffer. This 904/8 #30 here (chassis #904-008) was one of these two cars. As faith would have it, both 904/8 #30 and sister 904/8 #29 had to abandon the race. The Type 771 engine was fine, the problem was with the clutch. As always, you never can take Le Mans for granted.
This was a total first for me. For the first time, I did a “2fer buy”, and got both #29 and #30 at once. And I don’t even have to point out that I bought both just to get them on the MAN 635 transporter… That I don’t have yet but want to buy. But (lack of) transportation issues aside, as I said for the #29, this is a gem of a model.