One to Buy: ex-Shintaro Taki double Suzuka 1000km-winning 1966 Porsche 906
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Also known as the Carrera 6, the 906 was created as Porsche’s challenger for the 1966 season when new rules came into effect for Sports, Prototype and Grand Touring Cars.
The premier Group 6 Prototype category had no minimum production requirement whereas the Group 4 Sports car class mandated at least 50 units.
Unlike Ferrari who never came close to reaching the 50 car target with their Dino 206 S, Porsche ultimately exceeded that figure with ease and the 906 went on to become the dominant car in its class for the next few years.
In addition to having supplied the 906 to customers, Porsche undertook their own competition programme with the model which proved competitive in both top flight circuit racing, hillclimbs and even the occasional tarmac rally.
Set to go under the hammer at Bonhams’ Quail Lodge auction in Monterey on August 18th is a particularly significant 906, chassis 120, which was originally delivered to Japanese privateer Shintaro Taki in March 1966.
During his inaugural campaign with chassis 120, Taki won races at Suzuka and Fuji and also picked up a second place finish at Funabashi followed by third in the Macau Grand Prix.
Taki continued to race the car throughout 1967 when Kenjiro Tanaka also took the wheel. Between them they scored four victories at Fuji (to include that year’s 2 Hour event) and also won the Suzuka 1000km.
Chassis 120 continued its winning ways throughout the 1968 and ‘69 seasons, during which it most notably scored a second win in the Suzuka 1000km (in 1969).
The car raced on with a subsequent owner until 1974 and during the 1990s was restored by Porsche themselves.
