The ‘replica’ car manufacturing business is a controversial area but there’s no denying that it exists. That being so, we should do our best to distinguish between respectable copies that have been faithfully reproduced and vague interpretations of glorious originals. This copy of the 1966 Porsche 906, now being produced in tiny numbers by the remarkable Abad family, classic car restorers of Buenos Aires in Argentina, looks very good indeed.

Back in 1966, at the Le Mans 24 Hours, the two-litre Porsche 906s finished impressively in 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th places, behind the winning 7-litre Ford Mk IIs. The Abads spent 10 years preparing to manufacture their new 906 copy and their painstaking work has produced a result that is very hard to tell from the original. No attempt, however, has been made to pass the replicas off as originals.

The 906 was first and foremost a racing car but 50 had be made to homologate the model for international GT racing. To satisfy demand, the Porsche factory actually made 65, and 52 of those were road-legal models fitted with the flat-six 911 engines in two-litre, 210bhp form.

The 906 was a mid-engined car with a spaceframe chassis and a glassfibre body, all of which the Abads have reproduced with great care. The only deviation from the original specification was a deliberate strengthening of the chassis. For improved durability, they have used steel tubing of a slightly heavier gauge, making their car weigh 30kg more than the original lightweight racing car.

The Abads’ 906 can accept almost any 911 engine. Cockpits and instrumentation resemble closely the interiors of the 1966 works racing cars. The price of this replica Porsche 906, less engine and gearbox, is quoted as approximately 85,000 euros. To avoid litigation, there is no Porsche badging on the car.

No sales are expected in Argentina because there is no market for such a car there. Orders so far have all been from collectors outside South America. The attitude of the Porsche factory to this Argentinian enterprise is not known.

For further information, see www.vintageracingcars.net.

Text: Tony Dron
Photos: press-inform