Porsche 904 Carrera GTS
Porsche built the 904 Carrera GTS so a purpose-made racing car could also qualify for road use. This profile covers the quieter four-cylinder road-delivery version, not the 180 hp competition car or the rare factory six- and eight-cylinder racers.
1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS.jpg · Calreyn88 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Research pending
A matching completed auction sale has not been verified for this exact year, body, trim, engine, transmission and market.
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More than a set of wheels.
Ferdinand Alexander Porsche designed the low Type 904 for the 1964 season. Porsche and aircraft maker Heinkel developed a glass-fibre-reinforced plastic body bonded to a steel structure, a construction first for a Porsche production model. The mid-mounted four-cam flat-four and five-speed gearbox concentrated mass near the middle. Porsche built 106 four-cylinder examples according to its museum history, while works teams also experimented with a few more powerful six- and eight-cylinder cars.
Look a little closer.
The 904 introduced the GTS letters to Porsche; they mean Gran Turismo Sport.
Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.
Road number versus race number
Competition 904s are commonly listed at about 180 hp, and Porsche's rare works engines went higher still. The road-delivery four-cylinder used a street exhaust and was rated at 155 PS. Keeping those outputs separate matters: a road-approved 904 is not automatically in the same tune as a Targa Florio racer.
Source: Heacock Classic — 904 Porsche Carrera GTS ↗A body that helped carry the load
Porsche did more than place a plastic shell over an ordinary frame. The glass-fibre body was bonded to the steel structure, creating a stiff metal-and-composite unit. That aircraft-influenced method reduced mass and was a major change from the aluminium-bodied competition cars that came before it.
Source: Porsche Newsroom — Porsche 904 Carrera GTS ↗Where these facts come from
- Porsche Newsroom — Porsche 904 Carrera GTS
- Porsche Christophorus — 904 Carrera GTS
- Porsche Newsroom — Le Mans engineering history
- Heacock Classic — 904 Porsche Carrera GTS
- RM Sotheby's — 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS
Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed October 1, 2026.