Porsche built just 11 examples of the 993-series 911 GT2 Evo homologation special in the mid-1990s, and now one of the cars has been sold at auction for an impressive $1.45 million.

It was sold last week during Mecum’s 2017 Original Spring Classic auction in Indianapolis, Indiana. It ended up as the most expensive car at the auction, with the final bid coming in well above the reserve.

In the early ‘90s, Porsche was racing in various GT2 competitions using its 993-series 911 GT2 race car. However, the automaker was in need of something more extreme to race in GT1 events. Thus, the 911 GT2 Evo was born, and for homologation purposes some road-going examples were required. But only 11 of these homologation specials were built in 1996 as Porsche that year unveiled the new 996-series 911 GT1.

 

The 911 GT2 Evo homologation cars are almost identical to their race car siblings. A peak 600 horsepower and 490 pound-feet of torque was extracted from a 3.6-liter twin-turbocharged flat-6. The output is still fearsome today, but it’s coming from an air-cooled 911 built in the ‘90s!

The car also benefited from a widened track and a unique front bumper with inlets for oil and brake cooling. A second deck appeared on the already outlandish rear spoiler of the regular 911 GT2. This could be mounted higher in the air stream for added downforce. And if you take a look inside, virtually all luxuries had been removed in an effort to reduce weight.

This particular car was a one-owner example. He or she drove it just 4,350 miles before deciding to finally sell.

Ghosts of the 356's eventual styling can be seen in some of these cars, and even the VW factory itself seems to have been both a little influenced by the streamlined design of some of the cars and foreshadowed the 356 eventual look in experimental vehicles like this prototype fiberglass-bodied VW. With steel in short supply, it's not surprising that VW would have tried their hand at fiberglass bodywork. What is surprising is that great fastback/Kammback look and very 356-like front end.

I think this period of amateur racing and home-brewed, DIY racears must have, on some level, influenced the 356. Possibly because of the likely unsavory political affiliations of many of the people involved (come on, it was right after the war in defeated Germany; I'd be surprised if there weren't ex-Nazi soldiers involved) this period doesn't get quite the credit it may deserve in Porsche's origin story.

Of course, I'm just speculating. Even though that first Porsche 356 is often treated as this exquisite one-off created in isolation in Austria, I think the Porsche line can really be said to have many ancestors, and they were made of tired old war VWs and airplane scraps. And I think that could be a compelling tale.

Summary

• The second from last 904 Carrera GTS built
• Documented ownership and extensive competition history
• Offered with a period-correct four-cam Carrera engine
• Arguably the most beautiful Porsche ever
• One of just four 904 Carrera GTSes built in "Series 2" specification from new

The Type 904, born from Porsche’s disappointing foray into Formula One in the early 1960s, was created to bring the company back to its racing sports car roots. In 1962, the immensely talented Ferdinand A. “Butzi” Porsche, the grandson of the company’s founder, was tasked with designing a new two-seat competition coupe that could also be driven on the street; this car was to utilize the mid-engine chassis configuration that had proven so successful with the racing department’s lightweight spyders. A run of 100 cars was approved to homologate the design for the FIA’s Group 3 GT category. In short order, Butzi had laid out a boxed steel ladder tubing frame on a 90.5-inch wheelbase, which would be clothed in a sleek and very light body shell of fiberglass. This design is still widely considered one of the company’s most beautiful designs. 

The body material was Porsche’s first venture into plastic composites. The panels, produced by Heinkel, were glued and bonded to the steel frame, creating a semi-monocoque structure. The seats were solidly mounted, but the car offered an adjustable steering column and pedals. Porsche had hoped to have its new six-cylinder Type 901 engine ready for the new mid-engined coupe to run at Le Mans, but it was not convinced that the new engine could go the distance. Thus, most 904s were fitted with the Type 547 (1.6 liter) and the Type 587/3 (2.0 liter) DOHC Carrera four-cylinder motors, and it was only towards the end of production that the 2.0-liter 901 flat six was used. The beautifully balanced 904 GTS, which was introduced in early 1964, would enjoy a brilliant inaugural season, scoring victories at Sebring, the Targa Florio, Spa, the Nürburgring 1000 KM, the 24 Hours of Le Mans (a 1-4 class sweep), the 12 Hours of Reims, the Coppa Inter-Europa, the Tour de France, the Bridgehampton 500 KM, and the 1000 KM of Paris. In U.S. amateur racing, the 904 was considered potent enough to be classed with the much more powerful big block Corvettes and Cobras, and it still acquitted itself admirably. Over a two-year period, Porsche would produce just over 100 of these exquisite little coupes, but time and technology would not wait, and Porsche’s new space-framed 906 was deemed a superior vehicle. GTS production ended before a second 100-car run could commence.

This fine example’s history is well-documented. It was built in 1965 and is the next-to-last of the four-cylinder series. It was fitted with road equipment and originally shipped to Volkswagen Islandi, a dealership in Hekla, Iceland, perhaps for promotional use. Research by factory expert Jürgen Barth and Jerry Pantis, author of The Porsche 904, 906 & 910 in the Americas, indicates that 904-107 was among just four “second-series” cars fitted with a reinforced chassis, center-filling gas tank, short doors with pull-up plastic side windows, upgraded brakes, and a reshaped tail section with a slight “Kamm” ducktail. Because these cars were built near the end of the series, more time was lavished upon them to ensure that every detail was correct.

The Icelandic dealership sold this car in 1967 to Autohaus Walter von Hoff, a Volkswagen dealer in Bad Kreuznach, West Germany. In late 1967, the 904 was sold to an American amateur racing driver, Dr. Carl Armstrong of Toledo, Ohio, for about $6,000.

Dr. Armstrong picked up his new car at the Port of New York City and drove it home. Available data shows that the car was fitted at that time with four-cam engine number 99 088. Dr. Armstrong did most of his own race preparation and painted chassis number 904-107 a light metallic blue. According to Pantis, who researched the car’s racing results with the help of noted Porsche historian Jim Perrin, Dr. Armstrong extensively raced the car, usually carrying #90, in SCCA Central Division contests in 1968 and 1969.

On August 24, 1968, Dr. Armstrong won the A Production race at Waterford Hills, Michigan; came 2nd in class at Waterford Hills on September 14; won 1st again at Waterford on September 28 and again on October 6 at Steel Cities; and came in 4th at Mid-Ohio October 13. It appears that during Dr. Armstrong’s ownership, the car sustained some light damage to the driver’s side front fender. The transaxle case also suffered some damage, so the unit was replaced with one from a 911. It is recorded that the car’s Type 587/3 four-cam engine had a propensity for head gasket failure, so the owner had his brother fabricate a new set to resolve the problem. Pantis records that the flywheel came adrift at one race at Waterford, so Dr. Armstrong towed the car home, made an overnight repair, and returned to the track the next morning.

In 1969, Dr. Armstrong raced his little coupe a few more times, but after acquiring a 906, he sold the 904 to Robert Fergus, the owner of Midwest Volkswagen (MidVo) in Dublin, Ohio. Fergus prepared the GTS for road use by repainting it white with yellow trim and installing carpeting and more comfortable seats. However, he only had the car for a short period of time, as he sold it to well-known Alabama Porsche enthusiast and collector George “Jerry” Reilly. A correct 904 transmission and a 911 S competition engine were installed, and Reilly repainted the car in its original silver. Soon after, Reilly moved to Massachusetts, and over the next 30 years, he enjoyed the car. While it wasn’t raced, Reilly says he did enter the GTS in several track events at Lime Rock Park.

In 2001, Reilly reinstalled the original four-cam 904 engine (99 088) that was in the car when it was sold to Dr. Armstrong, and he offered the car for sale through Paul Russell and Company. By that point, the car had been driven less than 20,000 kilometers from new, and it appeared quite original in most aspects. The new owner, Mr. Cal Turner, took the car racing again, but unfortunately, the four-cam engine seized during a race at Summit Point, in West Virginia. Again, a 911 engine was plugged in, and the damaged four-cam was sold to Lothar Hoess, the owner of chassis number 904-100, the car in which that engine was originally installed. In 2005, the car was acquired from a private owner in Europe by DK Engineering in England, which performed what it described as a “thorough but very sympathetic” restoration that retained as much of the car’s original components as possible. Since then, the car has joined a significant Porsche and VW collection and has been used sparingly.

Chassis number 904-107 is offered here in roadworthy condition, being fitted with a 1,991-cubic centimeter, magnesium-cased, single-plug 911 engine of approximate 1966–1967 vintage with two triple-throat downdraft Weber 40IDA carburetors. Quite surprisingly, it is still fitted with its original Nadella axle shafts, Eberspacher gasoline heater, fuel surge tank in the nose compartment, the coconut-fiber matting beneath the front-mounted gas tank, and a set of 1964-dated steel and alloy 5.5-inch wide competition wheels, which may be original to this car. The interior features a period-correct Les Leston wood-rimmed steering wheel. At some point in its racing career, the car’s chassis was reinforced with additional steel tubing around the rear suspension. With the exception of the chassis reinforcement, all the preceding suggests that this is a largely unmolested late 904. A recent and thorough inspection was carried out by a leading Porsche expert, and documentation from this inspection is on file and available to review.

Included in the sale of this car is a correct 1964 Type 587/3 904 engine (number 99 111) of 1,966-cubic centimeter displacement, which has been mounted on a stand. It is understood that this motor is listed by Porsche as having been a spare. The engine was comprehensively inspected and tested to confirm that it is indeed in good health. It has since been removed, but it is ready to be fitted to the car once again.

The 904 Carrera GTS is today considered one of Porsche’s most desirable and collectible models, and here is a fine example that would be the crown jewel in any collection of 1960s racing Porsches.

Sold for $1,650,000

The Porsche company was founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, but it wasn't until the 1950s that he decided to create an emblem. With the help of his son, Ferdinand "Ferry" Porsche, and other trusted individuals, the crest was created and used in 1952. As you will soon read, the Porsche logo was created with the company's birthplace in mind, but I don't want to spoil it all. Continue reading for more information on this iconic symbol. 

2. Horse Breeders

Before Stuttgart became the home of Porsche's motor company, it was a horse farm way back in 950. Ever since Stuttgart became a city and the capital of Wurttemberg in the 13th century, it featured horses in its coat of arms. It first featured two running horses in its seal, but the design continued to go through a transformation. The rampant horse, shown in the Porsche logo, didn't get established until 1642.

You are probably wondering why this turned into a history lesson. Well, it will all be revealed in the last slideshow. What you should take from this now is Stuttgart's coat of arms was the inspiration for the horse on the Porsche crest.  

3. The Inspiration for the Design

You have already learned where the horse came from. Now, what about the rest of the features in the logo? From the beginning of its development in the 50s, the symbol for Porsche had to be an homage to its birthplace, while still representing an identity of power. Stuttgart's horse is shown in the center, so where did the antlers and the colors come from? The answer is the coat of arms of Wurttemberg-Hohenzollern, which was a simplified version of the Kingdom of Wurttemberg's (later known as Free People's State of Wurttemberg) coat of arms.   

The first draft of the design was drawn by Ferry Porsche on a serviette in New York with Max Hoffman sat beside him. Hoffman was Porsche's United State's importer and also had helped in the creation of the logo. Although, the final sketch and the one used was created by Franz Xaver Reimspress, a Porsche engineer. 

4. Incorporating the Crest in Porsche Cars

Like I mentioned at the beginning of the slideshow, the company was founded in 1931 but the crest was created in 1952. This was also the time that the crest was added to the cars. It first appeared on the steering wheel, two years later on the front bonnet handle, and four years later it was available on the wheel hub caps as on option.

5. Porsche or Ferrari, Who Had It First?

Both Ferrari's and Porsche's crest feature a rampant horse and were meant to represent their birthplace, but while one was meant to represent power, the other was meant as good luck. The Ferrari horse was meant to bring Enzo Ferrari luck as it did with Francesco Baracca, a fighter pilot during WWI. The Ferrari horse wasn't used on the cars until 1932 during the SPA 24 Hours race.

So things are getting a little complicated at trying to figure out who had it first. Ferrari started adding the horse to his cars in 1932, while Porsche started in 1952. In hindsight, it does sound like Ferrari had it first, but let's go back to their history once more. In the second slideshow, I stated that Stuttgart has been using horses in its coat of arms since the 13th century (17th century if you want to get technical about the rampant horse), but Baracca didn't start 

Porsche has a long history with racing, but by 1966, they still had not ventured into the oldest motoring event in the United States, the Indianapolis 500, and would not for another 14 years.  One of the most grandiose spectacles of all time, the Indy 500 has been held at the “yard of bricks” since 1911.  By the mid-1960s, most of the privateer racers had died off, and the manufacturer era was in full swing.  Occasionally, though, a privateer would show up with a hair-brained scheme that they had cooked up in a dimly lit barn over the course of the previous winter, hoping to overthrow the might of a major team with brains, instead of brawn.  This is one of those privateer, underdog stories.

The Stein-Porsche Twin, showed up at the track to little fanfare.  Albert Stein, a midget racing champion from Southern California, saw the simplicity and power available from Porsche’s flat-six, and wanted to exploit these traits in his attack on the long straights of Indy.  Pulling from lessons learned in the past, Stein brought back the “twin engine roadster” design that had disappeared from the speedway 20 years prior.  His hopes were that the lighter individual weight, lack of liquid cooling system, and lower center of gravity of the flat engines, combined with the added advantage of four wheel drive, would provide the necessary benefits to overcome the ungainly front engine placement and added weight of a second engine.

Stein hired Joe Huffaker to assemble a suitable chassis for the engines, and cribbed a pair of transmissions from Lancia’s racing division, giving him the basis for his assault the following spring.  Stein had planned to use a more traditional Ford or Offenhauser engine setup, but in the planning stages, a friend in Europe offered three 2.0 liter 901 engines for less than the cost of a single example of one of the “Americans”.  Albert had one of his crew fabricate an aluminum body shell for the car and used traditional Indianapolis racing brakes from Girling, and a set of lightweight magnesium wheels to complete the build.

In an odd setup, the front engine was faced frontward, with the Lancia gearbox facing the driver’s seat, while the rear engine was also faced frontward, with the engine immediately behind the driver, and the transaxle out back.  Out of necessity, the gearboxes were required to be built identically, and a strange erector-set of shift linkages, clutch operating levers, and throttle cables were needed to synchronize both drivetrains together.  Obviously, the front engine supplied power to the front wheels, and the rear engine supplied power to the rear wheels, but both engines could be operated independently from each other, should one of them fail.

Experienced, but not necessarily qualified, driver Bill Cheesbourg, was elected to drive the car at the Speedway.  Cheesbourg had participated in every Indy 500 for the preceding 9 years, yet had only qualified for the 33 car field six times, and four of those occasions he started on the last row.  While Cheesbourg had finished in the top ten in 1958, this was a minor victory, as it was predominately down to the attrition rate in the remainder of the field.

During qualifying for the race, Bill was able to foot the car around the course at an average speed of 149 miles per hour.  He tried a number of times, yet was not able to go any faster.  On scene reports suggest that most of the qualifying session was spent fiddling with the car, attempting to make things work as they should.  It was evident that the car was not as quick as they had hoped, and as last gasp effort to turn up the wick didn’t pan out.  The team would not make the “big show”, failing to make the final row by nearly 10 miles per hour.  The car, according to Cheesbourg, was lacking predominately in power, as he claimed he could drive with his accelerator pedal flat through all four of Indianapolis’ famous ninety-degree corners.  Carrying momentum was not the problem, gaining speed on the long straights, however, was.

Stein claims that he was negotiating with Porsche to have “911S” camshafts installed in both of his Indianapolis engines, yet was told that they were not willing to release them for sale as the production cars had not yet hit the market.  If Bill Cheesbourg’s claim of flat-footing the corners is true, I believe the additional power provided by the cam update could have given the car the added oomph it needed to make the race. Stein remained adamant of this for many years after they had packed up and gone home, post-qualifying effort.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE STEIN PORSCHE TWIN

Stein made an effort to return the next year, offering to sell the operation to anyone for a “nominal dollar” if they promised to fund the effort in 1967.  Unfortunately, nobody took Stein up on his offer, and the car was eventually dismantled and sold for parts.  Pieces of the aluminum bodywork can still be found in race shops across Southern California.  If a few variables had been slightly different, I like to think that this car could have found its way into a museum, rather than the unsanctified end that it met.  If Porsche had released the “S” cams, if Stein had hired a more qualified driver, if they had been able to work out all of the issues, might Porsche have become more synonymous with Indy?  Might they have spent their late 60’s factory racing efforts focused on Indiana, rather than Le Mans, France, fighting Ford and Offenhauser, rather than Ferrari?

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