While Porsche today is considered a mainstay of sports car racing, it was the 904 GTS that helped to put the company on that path to success in the early sixties, and onto outright domination in the years to come. Additionally, the 904 is the inspiration for the current 918 where the design lineage is clear. The 904’s mid-engine layout, inherited from the 718 (also known as the RSK), contributed to its racing prowess. Breaking cover in time for the 1964 season, the 904 GTS was an entirely new design with a number of groundbreaking features, including its steel frame strengthened by bonded fiberglass panels and aerodynamic bodywork with a low-drag nose and Kamm tail. Its success was instant. The model took class wins at every major race during the 1964 and 1965 seasons, including its iconic 1-2 finish at the 1964 Targa Florio.

The factory Kardex on file shows that the 904 GTS chassis no. 094 was delivered new to Joseph A. Richelets, the owner of a Porsche/VW dealership in Long Beach, CA. The car’s original invoice shows a purchase date of June 4, 1964, for the princely sum of $7,425. Originally finished in Silver Metallic paintwork over a blue velour interior, just as it presents today, it was resold that August to Otto Zipper Motors of Santa Monica, the famed exotic car dealer on the corner of 26th Street and Wilshire Boulevard. Zipper found a buyer in Jane O’Neall, a schoolteacher from West Los Angeles, who paid $9,152 for the car.

Ms. O’Neall was associated with Reg Vernet, an amateur racer who owned a garage named Por-Gon Engineering on Sepulveda Boulevard in Los Angeles. With Vernet is where this 904’s race history begins. Appearing first in the Production Enduro class at the Riverside Times Grand Prix in October 1964, Reg Vernet the following month saw a fantastic result at a time trial in Del Mar organized by the Porsche Owner’s Club, finishing with the second fastest time of the day, behind only Otto Zipper’s own Porsche 904 (chassis no. 087).

Over the next few months, the 904 was driven by both Reg Vernet and Jim Adams at a handful of events in southern California. Adams was no stranger to the Southern California racing scene, being a 28-year-old office manager for the Cal Club region of the SCCA, who had started out racing MGBs while he was in college and later drove for Chick Vandagriff. The 904’s most successful outings came at Willow Springs in February 1965 with Jim Adams, which included a pair of 1st place finishes in the A-Production Race and C-F Modified race, the latter of which saw Adams set an E-Modified lap record. Following its appearance at the USRRC race at Riverside in May of 1965, the car was painted dark blue.

Interestingly, some sources state that the next owner of the 904 GTS was George Lucas of Lucasfilm fame; however, he is believed to have owned the car for only a few months. Allegedly owned by Lucas very early in his film career, the tantalizing bodywork of the 904 could very well have proved inspiring for his later work, hugely significant in pop culture to this day. Bruce Smith would be chassis number 094’s next owner, and he raced the car just once in the A-production SCCA race at the Riverside Times Grand Prix in October of 1966. The car’s next owner was Harry Haggard of Los Alamitos. Before taking delivery, Harry had the Porsche repainted in its original silver. With him, it would return to the Riverside Times Grand Prix in 1967, raced by Andy Shoemaker in the A-Production race.

That would be the last competitive outing in period for chassis no. 094, yet Haggard continued to use the 904 on the road, adding some 15,000 miles in his ownership. Around 1970, the car’s original engine was replaced with an engine sourced from a 911. However, it is important to note that today the car is presently fitted with engine number P99032, a type 587/3, a 2.0-litre four-cam engine. A Porsche Werks racing engine, fuel-injected, with dry sump lubrication and a high compression ratio, this flat-four cylinder boasts an impressive 180 horsepower, making it one of the most complex four-cylinder engines ever produced. Haggard sold the car to Jamie Mazzotta of Bella Vista, who entered the car in several vintage races in his ownership, prior to selling it around 1984.

After passing through Harley Cluxton’s Grand Touring Cars in Scottsdale, AZ, the 904 was purchased by Ted Mitsuno of San Francisco and then subsequently sold to Makoto Sekiguchi of Japan, a well-known collector of Porsches who also owned a 906 at the time. Rarely used during its time in Japan, it was acquired by the current owner approximately ten years ago and returned to the US, where it has resided ever since. With the current owner, the 904 has largely remained undriven, but has been regularly looked after to ensure it is ready to be driven should the mood strike. More recently, the 904 GTS has been inspected by Cam Ingram of Road Scholars, and this report is available in the car’s history file. This confirms that the car is fitted with a set of original magnesium wheels as well as a racing exhaust, exceptionally rare for a car that was raced in period.

Boasting an impressive and unique provenance, a rare Werks racing engine and known successful racing history from new with a competition history in one of the SCCA’s most iconic and competitive regions, this is a fascinating 904 that would be a welcome and significant addition to any Porsche collection.