1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS

The Porsche 904 Carrera GTS brought a glass-fibre-reinforced body and compact mid-engine proportions to Porsche’s 1960s competition story. The manufacturer’s museum reference uses the 1964 season, following the model’s earlier development and reveal context. Its count needs qualification: Porsche identifies 106 four-cylinder examples alongside additional works six- and eight-cylinder cars. This profile follows the programme without treating the four-cylinder figure as a total for every 904 configuration.

A new shape for Porsche competition

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche’s design clothed the 904 in a low, enclosed body. The museum identifies it as the first Porsche with glass-fibre-reinforced plastic bodywork, produced with Heinkel’s involvement. The important historical connection is between manufacturing approach and competition purpose. A finished body’s elegant appearance should not obscure the different technical demands of the road-homologation cars and the works developments that also carried the 904 designation.

Porsche Museum: 904 variants, construction and count boundary

Several engines beneath a shared designation

The factory account separates the main four-cylinder group from works cars with six-cylinder engines and three eight-cylinder machines. That prevents a common specification error: assigning the museum exhibit’s eight-cylinder technical table to every customer Carrera GTS. Identify the engine variant before quoting output or displacement. The shared body family provides programme continuity, but a particular chassis needs its own build and race records to establish the correct mechanical description.

Why 106 is a scoped figure

Porsche’s museum page specifically gives 106 units with four-cylinder engines. Additional works configurations are described separately, so the figure is not an all-904 construction census. Keeping this wording visible makes the rarity evidence more useful than a bare number. It also avoids adding prototypes and later engine substitutions into a single unsupported total. Completed road-car and competition construction boundaries remain separate from the programme profile.

Porsche Museum: 904 variants, construction and count boundary

The 1964 competition reference

The factory history places the 904 in the 1964 Targa Florio story, while the selected museum exhibit has its own eight-cylinder description. Race achievements should retain crew, class and configuration rather than becoming a universal record for every 904. A later historic-racing appearance can be part of an individual car’s history without proving that it is the period winning object or that it still carries its first engine.

Porsche: super-sports-car historical context

Reading a surviving 904’s identity

Compare the chassis record, original engine type, body history and dated competition entries. Glass-fibre panels and major mechanical components can be replaced, making a clear restoration account important. A vehicle’s present appearance may accurately reproduce a historic configuration while differing from its original delivery state. Describe those layers openly. A photograph supports identification of the pictured subject, while an uninterrupted provenance chain requires documentary evidence beyond a familiar livery.

Specifications and identity reference

Rarity and production scope

Verified 904 Carrera GTS programme. The manufacturer’s 106 reference applies to four-cylinder examples; works six- and eight-cylinder developments are separately described. No combined all-build total or individual winning-chassis identity is assigned.

This is an Archive record. Concepts, restored heritage vehicles, works cars and competition programmes are not added to customer road-production totals. A programme profile does not establish how many physical chassis were made, and repeated exhibition appearances do not create additional vehicles.

What the photograph represents

A car catalogued as a 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS. Programme illustration; the image is not used to authenticate its original engine configuration or a particular period winning chassis.

Related Porsche heritage profiles

• 1967 Porsche 911 R — Original Lightweight Programme
• 1968 Porsche 909 Bergspyder

Frequently asked questions

Did every 904 have an eight-cylinder engine?

No. Porsche distinguishes the main four-cylinder group from works six- and eight-cylinder developments.

Is 106 the total of every 904 configuration?

The cited factory page explicitly assigns 106 to the four-cylinder group.

What is the production-count boundary for this profile?

Verified 904 Carrera GTS programme. The manufacturer’s 106 reference applies to four-cylinder examples; works six- and eight-cylinder developments are separately described. No combined all-build total or individual winning-chassis identity is assigned.

Sources and further reading

1. Porsche Museum: 904 variants, construction and count boundary
2. Porsche: super-sports-car historical context

Research checked 17 October 2026. Linked factory, heritage and specialist-register records support the specifically attributed claims. Photographic descriptions identify the illustrated subject. Design analysis and suggested authentication steps are editorial interpretation.