One to Buy: ex-works 1967 Porsche 910
During the 1960s, Porsche’s competition programme steadily progressed to the point that, by the end of the decade, the firm had become the dominant force in practically every discipline of Sportscar and GT racing.
Between 1966 and 1967, the 910 played a significant role in Porsche’s ascendancy. Conceived to replace the hugely successful 906, the 910 was designed to run both six and eight cylinder engines, the latter of which came on stream for the 1967 season.
For 1966, Porsche exclusively campaigned the 910 in the European Mountain Championship which Gerhard Mitter won (the first of his three consecutive Mountain titles for the company).
In 1967, the 910 was promoted to circuit racing duty. At this point the eight cylinder engine was brought in for power circuits while the six cylinder unit was retained where handling was the chief concern.
That season, the 910 took outright victory in four rounds of the World Sportscar Championship: the Targa Florio, Nurburgring 1000km, Mugello GP and Ollon-Villars Hilclimb. Class wins were also achieved at the Daytona 24 Hours, Sebring 12 Hours, Monza 1000km and Spa 1000km.
One of those 910s to have won a World Sportscar Championship event outright is for sale as part of Issimi’s current North American listings.
Chassis 025 was the car that Udo Schutz and Gerhard Mitter drove to victory at the Mugello GP on July 23rd 1967. The 530km contest was round nine of the ‘67 World Sportscar Championship and took place over eight laps of a 66km Tuscan road course that weaved through the Apennine mountains.
Fitted with a 2.2-litre Flat 8 engine (as had been the case for its only previous outing when it posted a DNF at the Targa Florio), chassis 025 went on to defeat a stellar field and claim Porsche’s third outright World Championship win of the year.
Following a successful works career, 025 was fitted with a six cylinder engine and sold to a German privateer who raced it until 1970.
Today the car is offered in on-the-button condition and ranks among the most important Group 6 racing Porsches in existence.
Reprinted below is Issimi’s partial description for this wonderful ex-works Porsche Prototype:
Factory-Raced 910 Which Competed at the 1967 Targa Florio and Won the 1000km of Mugello. An Extensively-Documented, Significant, Sensational to Drive, and Highly Desirable Turnkey Vintage Race Car.
This particular 910 is serial number 025, making it a late car with a number of updates, the most noteworthy being widened front and rear tracks to further improve roadholding, introduced after the 12th 910 was built.
Originally a 2.2 liter 8-cylinder car, it made its competition debut at the Targa Florio on the 14th of May of 1967, driven by Gerhard Mitter and Colin Davis, wearing number 226. It suffered a collision that put it out of the race on the second lap. It was repaired and then raced by Gerhard Mitter and Udo Schutz at the Mugello 1000km Grand Prix on the 23rd of July, which it won overall.
Like the other 910s, it was refurbished by the factory and fitted with a 6-cylinder engine prior to being sold, as confirmed by a letter on Porsche letterhead written by Jurgen Barth.
In November of 1968, Porsche sold the car to its first private owner, Helmut Klocke, a German privateer. He raced it extensively in 1969 and 1970, mostly in Germany but occasionally elsewhere in Europe.
Klocke retained the car for more than 25 years, selling it to another German in 1996.
It was restored in 2001 by the highly-regarded specialists Hall & Hall in England, and again more recently by Virtuoso Performance in California, who has also been responsible for setup and support as it has raced in vintage events in the United States, including at Laguna Seca and Sonoma Raceway. Its modern active period of vintage racing has also included outings at the Le Mans Classic, Nurburgring, and Spa.
Its current owner has had the car for 11 years and it is in turnkey race-ready condition. In addition to the currently installed engine, 025 also comes with a 2.0 liter center-oiled fuel-injected engine with magnesium heads, which will be supplied in freshly rebuilt condition.
Included with the car is extensive correspondence with Jurgen Barth confirming the above history (and more!), other supporting documents from the car’s life, many period photos of the car at races, period sales and technical documents from Porsche AG, internal Targa Florio results document from Porsche, an original 910 owner’s manual, invoices from the restoration, upkeep, and preparation of the car, miscellaneous magazine issues in which this specific car has been featured, and three sets of FIA papers issued at various times during the car’s vintage racing career.
Price: $3.25m
