1966 Porsche 906 LH #30
Pilots: J. Siffert, C. Davis
Team: Porsche System Engineering
Race: 4th overall (1st in P 2.0 class) at Le Mans in 1966
Spark - S4486 (resin)
Published 06/12/26
Born in 1937, Ferdinand Karl Piëch was the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche. In 1962 he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering, and went to work for Porsche. Extremely competent, very soon he oversaw the development of new models. Well, maybe being the grandson of Porsche helped (just a bit? 🤨)… Nonetheless, with the 904 as the basis, in 1965 he began working on Stuttgart’s new flagship: the 906. The new 906, or Carrera 6, as Porsche advertised it, was meant for Group 4 racing. It was nothing less than a street-legal racecar that complied with the FIA regulations. In fact, it had luggage space and carried a spare wheel, meeting homologation standards for the 1966 World Sportscar Championship. Though with a similar design and architecture of the 904, it had a very important difference. It was lighter – 20% lighter, in fact.
The idea was to make the 906 as light as possible. With that, the design of everything, from body to engine to chassis, had low weight as a goal. Everywhere possible, Piëch replaced steel with lighter components. Even so, he had to keep costs in check, so a lot of components came from other cars. For instance, the Typ 901/20 engine was the same 1991 cm³ flat-6 from the 911, tweaked for power and weight. The 5-speed manual gearbox also came from the 911, while the suspension was from the 904. To the annoyance of pit crews, Piëch, to save costs, used 5 nuts-wheels from passenger cars. Piëch placed the engine at mid-ships, and covered it with a huge plexiglass window. The body was all fiberglass, and for the first time Porsche used a wind tunnel to gauge aerodynamics. In the end, the car weighed only 580 kg.
Porsche debuted the 906 at Daytona, in February, 1966. Officially called 906/6 Carrera 6, the 906 K (Kurz, or short tail) came in sixth overall and first in class. Yet, for the Mulsanne straight it needed more top speed. Therefore, with La Sarthe in mind, Porsche also developed the long-tail 906 LH (906/6L Carrera 6). While the Langheck achieved 280 km/h, with the same engine the Kurz topped-out at 265 km/h. There was a trade-off, however – the 906 LH was less stable at high speeds. In June of 1966 Porsche arrived en force at the 24 Heures du Mans. The works team counted on three LH (chassis #906-151, 152 and 153) and two K (#906-143 and 155). While the LH were for the Prototype 2.0 class, the K were for the Sports 2.0 class. Porsche’s main rival in the Prototype class would be the Dino 206S.
To Porsche’s relief, none of the Dinos presented a challenge – all three cars abandoned in the beginning of the race. And the other P 2.0 cars, all Matra M620, didn’t fare much better. With that, it was smooth sailing for the Stuttgart team. The three 906 LH finished in fourth, fifth and sixth, with 906 LH #30 coming in first in P 2.0. And in S 2.0, 906 K #58 came in first (eighth overall). But that was not all for Porsche. In the GT 2.0 class, a 911S came in first place (14th overall). That was the first 911 to compete in La Sarthe, initiating a tradition that persists to this day. Ever since 1966, there has been a 911 in the grid every year. Uber cool 😎!
The 906 LH #30 is quite important for me. It was one of the very first Porsche class winners that I got when I collected 1:18. From Minichamps, it was quite the piece for my very modest collection at the time. When I started the W-143 Garage, it was one of those models that was always a must-buy for me. However, being an older release from Spark, it was hard to find. in fact, this was the first one I came upon. Best of all, I found it for a good price, and locally 😎! So, it was a matter of instantaneous smashing of the BIN button. Despite being an older release from Spark, I can’t say their current stuff is much better. Details abound and lines and painting are crisp. Fantastic for the price! As a bonus, a perfect model to celebrate W-143’s seventh anniversary 🍻!
Aannnddd, BIG BONUS: Le Mans 2026 is tomorrow!!!! 🤘🤘🤘