Porsche 906

Porsche
906
Production period:	1965-1966
Class :	race car
Body versions :	Coupé , roadster
Engines:	Petrol engines : 2.0–2.2 liters (155–198 kW)
Length:	3580-4600 mm
Width:	1680 mm
Height:	980 mm
Wheelbase :	2300 mm
Empty weight :	488-710 kg
Previous model	Porsche 904
successor	Porsche 910

The Porsche 906 , officially marketed as Carrera 6 , was a racing car from Porsche KG . The coupé, which was delivered from the spring of 1966, was a development based on the Porsche 906 Bergspyders, which was used in the European Hill Climb Championship in 1965, and the successor to the Porsche 904 .

In 1966 the works team fielded the 906 in the sports car world championship and in the European hill climb championship, which Gerhard Mitter won with the car. In the brand world championship, Porsche won in the 2-liter prototype and 2-liter sports car class.

From 1967 to 1971 only private teams drove the Porsche 906 in the sports car world championship, European hill climb championship and national championships.

General

With the 904 Coupé, Porsche competed in the brand world championship from 1964 and the specially converted and lightweight 904 Bergspyder in the European hill climb championship. In the middle of the 1965 mountain championship season, the 904 Bergspyder was inferior to the Ferrari Dino 206P . In order to maintain future title chances in the sports car class of the European Hill Climb Championship, a new, competitive vehicle had to be developed. The new 906 Bergspyder, which was still completed in 1965, could no longer prevent Ludovico Scarfiotti and Ferrari from winning the title , but it provided the starting point for the 906 Coupé that was completely redeveloped under Ferdinand Piëch .

Like the 904, the Porsche 906 was to receive homologation for the sports car class of the sports car world championship. Therefore, according to the FIA regulations, at least 50 vehicles of the type had to be sold. The 906 was marketed as the Carrera 6 , as Peugeot had registered three-digit numbers with a zero in the middle as a name for road vehicles.

Customers could buy the car, which was approved for use on public roads, for 45,000 DM ex works. Due to the high demand, a further 15 units were produced after the planned 50 vehicles.

Model development

906 Bergspyder (1965–1966)

body

The 906 Bergspyder was the successor to the 904 Bergspyder, which was also known as the "kangaroo" because of its driving behavior. Instead of a steel box frame , the 906 had a lighter tubular space frame , over which a light aerodynamic plastic skin was mounted. The chassis had the number 906 010.

The Spyder was first used with this body in 1965 at the Ollon-Villars hill climb. In the following year, the developers converted the racing car into a coupé. The coupé already had the basic design elements such as the gullwing doors and the plexiglass hood over the engine of the later series 906. The curb weight of the light racing car was last 488 kg.

landing gear

In order to be able to complete the Bergspyder in the 1965 hill climb championship season, Porsche acquired a complete Formula 1 chassis from Lotus in England. These included the wheel carriers and 13-inch light alloy wheels with central locking, which replaced the original 15-inch steel wheels from the 904 Bergspyder with tires in the dimensions 5.50 / 15.00-15 at the front and 6.00 / 15.00-15 at the rear.

engine and gears

The air-cooled 2-liter eight-cylinder boxer engine type 771 was carried over from its predecessor. The mixture was prepared using a Bosch injection system. The valves were controlled by two vertical shaft driven camshafts per cylinder bank. The engine developed a maximum of 191 kW (260 hp) at 8800 rpm with a compression ratio of 10.5: 1.

With the five-speed manual transmission of the type 906, the car reached a top speed of around 260 km / h.

906 Coupé (1966)

body

Front view of a Porsche 906

The 906 Coupé was developed on the basis of the 906 Bergspyder. The steel space frame was not only a load-bearing element, but also served as an oil pipe system. In some pipes the engine oil was routed from the engine to the oil cooler and back again in order to save weight, which would have caused additional lines. An aerodynamically designed plastic body was mounted over the tubular space frame. The coupé, which was only 980 mm high, had a front that was drawn far down and to the front, in which the headlights and indicators were embedded behind a transparent plastic pane. On some models, small spoilers were installed on the left and right in order to push the vehicle closer to the ground with the incoming air.

The tubular space frame required upward opening double doors to get into the two-seater car. The engine was located as a mid-engine directly behind the cockpit and was covered by a yellow, transparent plexiglass pane with ventilation slots, which sloped off from the edge of the roof flush with the stern. The rear ended in a so-called K-shape and could be opened completely to the rear to access the engine and the gearbox.

The developers designed a long-tail version for racetracks that contain long straights and enable high speeds. Thanks to improved aerodynamics, these vehicles achieved higher top speeds compared to the standard coupé. In addition to the elongated rear, the long-tail version had an elongated and slightly lower front. The Group 4 racing car had a curb weight of 675 kg in the standard version and a slightly higher weight of 710 kg in the long-tail version.

landing gear

Rear view of a Porsche 906

The chassis was largely taken over from the Porsche 904/6: individually suspended wheels on double inclined, inverted triangular wishbones and trailing arms at the rear, on double wishbones at the front and coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers on all wheels. There were also stabilizers 16 mm thick at the front and 15 mm at the rear. To improve handling, the wishbones and stabilizers were made of metal instead of rubber.

For cost reasons, the developers used the dual-circuit braking system and the tires of the 904/6. The disc brakes, which are addressed separately in a front and rear brake circuit, prevented a complete breakdown of the brakes and enabled the braking effect to be adapted to the needs of the route. The 15-inch five-hole steel wheels were relatively heavy and were 7J × 15 with 5.50 / 15.00-15 racing tires at the front and 9J × 15 with 6.00 / 15.00-15 racing tires at the rear.

The prototypes that Porsche used in races were lighter than the standard 906s purchased by customers and had better chassis. For example, some chassis parts such as the steering knuckle were made of lightweight titanium instead of steel. The brake discs in some racing cars were made of the very light beryllium, which reduced the curb weight by a few kilograms compared to cast iron brake discs.

engine and gears

Porsche 906 E with six-cylinder injection engine and the typical elongated front

The air-cooled 2-liter six-cylinder boxer engine of the type 901/20 built into the homologation model was a further development of the Porsche 911 engine and was already used in races in the 904/6. The crankcase was made of lightweight electron . and the connecting rods made of titanium instead of steel. The flywheel weighed 3.5 kg and was around 2.5 kg lighter than the standard disk. As with the production engine, the cylinder heads were made of an aluminum alloy, but had been further redesigned for racing use. The valves were larger and the outlet valves were sodium-cooled. For the double ignition system, the cylinder heads received an additional socket for the second spark plug per cylinder. The two camshafts had different timing than the production model and were driven by a chain. Overall, the racing engine was 54 kg lighter than the series 911 engine.

For the mixture preparation, Porsche used a triple downdraft carburetor from Weber for each cylinder bank. With a compression ratio of 10.3: 1, the engine developed around 155 kW (210 hp) at 8000 rpm. 52 cars were equipped with this engine.

Nine factory vehicles received the 2-liter, six-cylinder boxer engine with an injection system, which enabled the engine output to be increased by 7 kW (10 hp) to 162 kW (220 hp) while the engine speed remained unchanged.

Another four factory 906s received an air-cooled eight-cylinder boxer engine of the type 771, which was already used in the 904/8. The engine had a displacement of 2.2 liters with a compression of 10.2: 1 and vertical shafts that drove the two overhead camshafts per cylinder bank. The maximum output was 198 kW (270 hp) at 8600 rpm.

All vehicles were equipped with a five-speed manual transmission of the type 906 and a ZF limited-slip differential . The gear ratios could be exchanged as required without removing the gear.

Racing history

1965 - The first use of the Bergspyder

The 906 Bergspyder had its premiere at the Ollon-Villars hill climb in Switzerland. There Gerhard Mitter drove the car to second place behind Ludovico Scarfiotti's Ferrari Dino 206P . At the last race of the season in Gaisberg, the Bergspyder finished fourth behind three Porsche 904s .

1966 - Victory in the European Hill Climb Championship and Brand World Championship

Porsche 906 E with Jo Siffert at the 1000 km race on the Nürburgring in 1966

The 906 Bergspyder was converted into a coupé for the 1966 European mountain championship season. Gerhard Mitter won the championship title with this racing car and later the Porsche 910 , which was used from the Sierra Montana hill climb.

The series 906 started for the first time in the Daytona 24-hour race . The car driven by Hans Herrmann and Herbert Linge took sixth place in the overall standings and won the 2-liter prototype class, as the 50 vehicles required for homologation in the sports car class had not yet been completed.

At the 12-hour race at Sebring , the 906 finished fourth, taking class victory over its direct competitor, Ferrari's Dino 206S , who finished fifth. In the following 1000 km race in Monza , Gerhard Mitter and Hans Herrmann were able to repeat the result and take fourth place overall.

The Porsche 906 won its first overall victory at the Targa Florio . There, the private Porsche-supported Scuderia Filipinetti team with the two drivers Willy Mairesse and Herbert Müller took first place in front of the Ferrari works team. The factory 906 with the Italians Vincenzo Arena and Antonio Pucci reached third place.

The 1000 km race at Spa-Francorchamps was a failure for Porsche, as a 906 was damaged during practice and could not start and the other two vehicles had to fail in the race. The race was won by a Ferrari 330P3 in front of four Ford GT40s . In the 1000 km race at the Nürburgring , Porsche had to admit defeat to a Chaparral 2D and two Ferrari Dino 206S. The 906 E, equipped with an injection engine and driven by Bob Bondurant and Paul Hawkins , came fourth in the overall result.

At the 24 Hours of Le Mans , the Porsche works team fielded three long-tail versions of the 906 alongside two production 906s for the first time. The long-tail cars came fourth to sixth in the overall standings behind three Ford GT40s. A series 906 drove to seventh place and completed the success of the 2-liter racing car.

Porsche 906 at the DAMC 05 Oldtimer Festival 2008 in the paddock of the Nürburgring

At the Mugello Grand Prix , the Porsche 906 driven by Gerhard Koch and Jochen Neerpasch won the race in front of three Alfa Romeo GTAs . Porsche achieved another victory at the Hockenheim Grand Prix . In addition to various private 906s, three factory 906s started there. Porsche used the race to test improvements to the injection vehicles. The works cars driven by Gerhard Mitter, Günter Klass and Hans Herrmann finished the race in places one to three. Behind them in fourth to sixth place were three privately driven 906s.

The Porsche 906 was last used in the 1966 season at the 500 km race at the Österreichring. There the works car piloted by Gerhard Mitter and Hans Herrmann won ahead of the second works 906 driven by Joseph Siffert . With this race, Porsche successfully finished the brand world championship with victories in the 2-liter sports car and prototype class. After that, the works racing cars were largely sold to private teams. In the following season, the works team already used the Porsche 910 as its successor.

In 1966, in addition to touring cars, sports cars were also allowed in many races of the German Automobile Circuit Championship (DARM). In all races in which the 906 competed, it achieved the overall victory. One of the most successful 906 pilots of this racing season was Udo Schütz , who achieved four wins as well as a second and a fourth place for the Scuderia Lufthansa team . In the years that followed, 2-liter sports cars were only registered in a few races and therefore no longer driven in the DARM apart from two races at the Nürburgring Hansapokal in 1967 and 1969.

1967 and 1970 - appearances in various championships

Porsche 906 E behind a Japanese Prince R380 in Fuji, 1966 or 1967 at the Japanese Grand Prix

In addition to the 910, the Porsche works team only used the 906 in the 1967 World Sports Car Championship in the races in Sebring, Monza and Le Mans. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans , Vic Elford and Ben Pon achieved seventh place overall and the S2.0 class win behind a Porsche 907 and 910. After that, the works team no longer competed with the 906.

The 906 was very popular with many private teams and was used successfully in the brand world championship from 1967 to 1971. In the 1967 season, private teams achieved victories in the 2-liter sports car class at the races at the Nürburgring, Mugello, Brands Hatch, Enna and the Österreichring. At the Coppa Citta di Enna, Dieter Spoerry drove the 906 Langheck to second overall, and in the 500 km race at the Österreichring, William Bradley and Richard Attwood drove their 906 Coupé to second overall. 1968 private 906 in Monza, in the Targa Florio, at the Nürburgring, in Spa-Francorchamps and in Watkins Glen each achieved the S2.0 class victory. In the 6-hour race at Watkins Glen, the Werner Frank team with a 906 long tail came fourth behind two Ford GT40s and a Howmet TX Continental . In the following two years, the 906 only achieved victories in the sports car and prototype class in the 12-hour race at Sebring and the 6-hour race at Watkins Glen.

In the European Hill Climb Championship, private teams drove the Porsche 906 from 1967 to 1968 for the entire season. In 1967 Rudi Lins won the mountain trophy in the sports car class with the 906. A year later, Sepp Greger was able to secure the mountain trophy in the sports car class with the 906. In the following two years, private drivers also competed in a few races with a 906.

From 1967 to 1970 some private drivers drove the Porsche 906 in the British sports car championship. There, the car had to compete with various, sometimes more powerfully motorized sports cars such as the Ford GT40, Ferrari 250LM , Lola T70 or Chevron B8 . In the 1967 and 1969 seasons, the 906 regularly achieved top ten placements. After the end of the 1970 season, the 906 was no longer used in this racing series that ran until 1972.

In the USA, the SCCA carried out the Doug Revson Trophy in 1967. In this one-season series, some private drivers started with 906 racing cars. In four out of five races, a Porsche 906 won each time. Only at the Grand Prix St-Jovite did an Elva BMW win over a 906.

1971 - The last outings in the sports car world championship

In 1971 the 906 made its last three appearances in the World Sports Car Championship. At the Targa Florio and at the 1000 km race at the Österreichring, the car achieved second place in the S2.0 classification. At the last start in the 1000 km race at the Nürburgring, he retired after 28 laps. After that, the Porsche 906 was no longer used in championship races.

The results from 1965 to 1971

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

Technical specifications

The Porsche 906 was produced from 1965 to 1966 in the following version and used ex works:

Porsche 906:	906 Coupé (homologation model)	906 coupe	906 long-tail coupe	906/8 Coupé	906/8 Bergspyder “Ollon Villars”
Engine:	6-cylinder boxer engine (four-stroke)			8-cylinder boxer engine (four-stroke)
Displacement:	1991 cc			2195 cc	1981 cc
Bore × stroke:	80.0 x 66.0 mm			80.0 x 54.6 mm	76.0 x 54.6 mm
Performance at 1 / min:	155 kW (210 PS) at 8000	162 kW (220 PS) at 8000		198 kW (270 hp) at 8600	191 kW (260 hp) at 8800
Max. Torque at 1 / min:	196 Nm at 6000	206 Nm at 6400		230 Nm at 7000	210 Nm at 7100
Compression:	10.3: 1			10.2: 1	10.5: 1
Valve control:	One overhead camshaft each , chain control			Two overhead camshafts each, vertical shaft control
Cooling:	Air cooling (fan)
Transmission:	5-speed gearbox and limited slip differential; Rear wheel drive
Brakes:	Dual circuit disc brakes
Front suspension:	Double wishbones with stabilizer
Rear suspension:	Inclined wishbones with stabilizer and guidance through longitudinal struts
Front suspension:	Coil springs with telescopic shock absorbers
Rear suspension:	Coil springs with telescopic shock absorbers
Body:	Plastic body with tubular space frame
Track width front / rear:	1338/1402 mm				1340/1410 mm
Wheelbase :	2300 mm
Tires rim:	VA: 5.50 / 15.00-15 on 7J × 15 HA: 6.00 / 15.00-15 on 9J × 15				VA: 5.25-13 on? J × 13 HA: 7.00-13 on? J × 13
Dimensions L × W × H:	4113 × 1680 × 980 mm		4600 × 1680 × 980 mm	4113 × 1680 × 980 mm	3580 ×? ×? mm
Empty weight :	675 kg		710 kg		488 kg
Top speed:	260 km / h		280 km / h		260 km / h

The six-cylinder engines equipped with a carburettor had 155 kW (210 hp), a somewhat lower output than the six-cylinder engines with injection systems, which delivered 162 kW (220 hp).

literature

• Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The big book of the Porsche types. Race car. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-613-03241-5 .
• Peter Schneider: Type compass Porsche. Racing and racing sports cars since 1948. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-613-02300-8 .
• Lothar Boschen, Jürgen Barth: The big book of Porsche types. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-613-01284-7 .
• Michael Behrndt, Jörg-Thomas Födisch, Matthias Behrndt: ADAC 1000 km race. Heel Verlag, Königswinter 2008, ISBN 978-3-89880-903-0 .

Web links

Commons : Porsche 906  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Porsche database

• Porsche 906 Carrera 6 Coupé on Porsche.com ( Memento from June 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
• Porsche 906/8 Bergspyder “Ollon Villars” on Porsche.com ( Memento from June 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 114.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 117.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Dr. Ing.hc F. Porsche AG: 1965 - Porsche 906/8 Bergspyder “Ollon Villars”. On: www.porsche.com/germany/ , archived from the original on June 4, 2009 ; Retrieved December 28, 2012 . 
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Dr. Ing.hc F. Porsche AG: 1966 - Porsche 906 Carrera 6 Coupé. On: www.porsche.com/germany/ , archived from the original on June 4, 2009 ; Retrieved December 28, 2012 . 
5. ^ ^{A b c d e} Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 92.
6. ^ ^{A b c d e} Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 112.
7. ↑ Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 130.
8. ^ ^{A b} Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 116.
9. ↑ primotipo.files - Internet site: X-ray image of the Porsche 906. At: primotipo.files.wordpress.com , accessed on February 28, 2020 . 
10. ↑ Snaplap - website: Porsche 907 - The First Porsche That Conquered Daytona. From: www.snaplap.net , March 17, 2017, accessed February 28, 2020 . 
11. ^ ^{A b c} Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 118.
12. ↑ Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 168 and p. 169.
13. ↑ Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 119.
14. ↑ ^{a b c d} Euromontagna - website: European Hill-Climb Championship. From: www.euromontagna.com , accessed December 28, 2012 . 
15. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Classicscars - website : Racing results of the sports car world championship 1966. From : www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 28, 2012 . 
16. ↑ Racing Sports Cars - Internet site: German automobile circuit championship. From: www.racingsportscars.com , accessed December 28, 2012 . 
17. ↑ ^{a b} Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the Sports Car World Championship 1967. At: www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 28, 2012 . 
18. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the Sports Car World Championship 1968. At: www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 28, 2012 . 
19. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the sports car world championship 1969. At: www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 28, 2012 . 
20. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the sports car world championship 1970. At: www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 28, 2012 . 
21. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the British Sports Car Championship 1967. From : www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 28, 2012 . 
22. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the British Sports Car Championship 1968. From : www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 28, 2012 . 
23. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the British Sports Car Championship 1969. From : www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 28, 2012 . 
24. ^ Racing Sports Cars - Website: Doug Revson Trophy 1967. At: www.racingsportscars.com , accessed December 28, 2012 . 
25. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the Sports Car World Championship 1971. At: www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 28, 2012 . 
26. ↑ Michael Behrndt, Jörg-Thomas Födisch, Matthias Behrndt: ADAC 1000 km race.