1967/1999 Martin & Walker 'Porsche 904 GTS Replica' Coupe

Description

Porsche’s lightweight 904 GTS was a mid-engined sports-racing car built to replace the long-running RS/RSK series and was a clean sheet design by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche (Ferry’s eldest son). The 904 utilised a box section frame of pressed steel with an integral subframe to carry the engine, transmission and rear suspension, wrapped in an elegant fibreglass bodyshell that became a structural element, contributing to the model’s impressive rigidity. Originally conceived with the new flat six from the 911 in mind, the decision was made to use the tried and tested 2-litre Carrera four-cam engine (further developed by Hans Mezger to extract 180 bhp at 7200 rpm) combined with a strengthened 911 five-speed gearbox and ZF limited-slip differential. Three prototype 904s debuted at the Weissach test track in August 1963 with further testing carried out at the Nürburgring before production commenced in November that year. Porsche had to build 100 units in order to qualify for GT racing and several went to wealthy customers looking for the ultimate road car – with a 0-60 mph time of 5.3 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph, the 904’s performance was on a different planet compared with the contemporary 356Cs, even in Carrera form. The 904’s first real test came at Daytona in February 1964, where reliability issues prevented the new model from demonstrating its real potential, but victory in the 2-litre class at Sebring the following month hinted at what was to come. By the time Porsche headed to Sicily for the Targa Florio homologation for the GT class had been granted and the race proved a triumph, the 904 scoring an impressive one-two victory over the Cobras. Thanks largely to its impressive reliability, the 904 went on to record countless victories on the track and in hill climbs, at times racing in both six and eight cylinders configurations. First of the so-called ‘Plastic Porsches’, the 904 ultimately fathered a whole generation of sports-racers, including the legendary 917, and became one of Zuffenhausen’s most revered, not to mention collectible sports racing cars, with surviving examples fetching seven figure prices. As a result small numbers of high quality replicas have been constructed over the years, including the faithfully engineered Martin & Walker Technic GTS offered here.