world gallery

Hands up who doesn’t like the Porsche 906? Not many, I guess, and that’s rather unsurprising. The 906 was the last of Porsche’s street legal race cars, built to homologate the Group 4 racing category. Weighing in at a lithe 1,300 lb (580 kg), the 906 featured a body comprising a lightweight tubular space frame and unstressed fibreglass shell. Most were fitted with a 220 hp (164 kW) 2.0 L six that gave it a top speed of 170 mph (280 km/h).

And with its mid-engine enclosed by a Plexiglas cover and those oh-so-fashionable gullwing doors, the 906 looked like a prop out of a science fiction movie. A 1970s science fiction movie to be sure, but that’s neither here nor there.

Patrick Motorsports (PMC) of Phoenix, Arizona has recently completed an intensive restoration on one of these cars, of which only fifty were produced. The so-called, “Full Concourse Quality Restoration” of this 1966-built model included the chassis, sub frame, fibreglass body and exterior paint.

The company went so far as to redesign and fabricate new gullwing door hinges and added a roof-mounted exhaust port to help cool the 906’s glassed-in cabin. They also completely rebuilt the suspension and replaced all the suspension rod ends with stainless steel.

Overall, the work appears to be of a high standard, resulting in a museum quality show piece that should also be driveable. Though, from the looks of that minimalist cabin and lack of sound proofing, I’m not too sure it’d be an altogether smooth or quiet ride. Still, one can’t have everything. Check out our gallery and feel free to leave a piece in the comments section below.

By Tristan Hankins

Link: Patrick Motorsports