PROVENANCE
Porsche AG, Stuttgart, Germany (retained for 1967 12 Hours of Sebring)
Otto Zipper, Los Angeles, California (acquired from the above in April 1967)
Vasek Polak, Redondo Beach, California (acquired from the above in 1968)
Gustav Mason O’Keiff, Houston, Texas (acquired from the above in 1968)
Warren Eads, Novato, California (acquired in 1988)
Gerald Barnes, Anaheim Hills, California (acquired in 1998)
Jerry Seinfeld, New York, New York (acquired from the above)
Current Owner (acquired from the above)

EXHIBITED
Monterey Historics, Laguna Seca, August 1992
Quail Motorsports Gathering, Carmel Valley, California, August 2006

RACE HISTORY
12 Hours of Sebring, April 1967, Joe Buzzetta/Peter Gregg, No. 38 (7th Overall, 4th in Class)
USRRC Las Vegas, April 1967, Scooter Patrick, No. 33 (DNF)
USRRC Riverside, April 1967, Scooter Patrick, No. 33 (10th Overall, 1st in Class)
USRRC Laguna Seca, May 1967, Scooter Patrick, No. 33 (DNF)
USRRC Santa Barbara, May 1967, Scooter Patrick, No. 33 (3rd Overall, 1st in Class)
USRRC Kent, July 1967, Scooter Patrick, No. 33 (8th Overall, 1st in Class)
SCCA National Cal Club, August 1967, Scooter Patrick, No. 33 (1st Overall)
Revson Trophy Laguna Seca, October 1967, Scooter Patrick, No. 33 (1st Overall)
Revson Trophy Riverside, October 1967, Scooter Patrick, No. 33 (1st Overall)
SCCA Las Vegas, November 1967, Scooter Patrick, No. 33 (1st Overall)
SCCA Willow Springs, March 1968, Don Wester, No. 60 (2nd Overall)
USRRC Riverside, April 1968, Scooter Patrick, No. 33 (11th Overall)
SCCA Riverside, August 1968, Don Pike, No. 33 (3rd Overall)
SCCA Phoenix, October 1968, Don Pike (2nd Overall)
ARRC Riverside, November 1968, Don Pike, No. 88 (8th Overall)
ARRC Road Atlanta, November 1971, Mason O’Keif, No. 98 (DNF)

LITERATURE
Jürgen Barth and Ulrich Trispel, Porsche 906, brief history on pp. 422–425
Jerry Pantis, The Porsche 904, 906 & 910 in the Americas, pictured and
discussed on pp. 8, 10, 15–19, 27, 156–157, 159–161, 164, 171, 177, 354, 374–379, 426–427, 429
Excellence: The Magazine About Porsche, Issue 34, August 1992, subject of feature article

THIS CAR
Developed in 1965 under the direction of a young Ferdinand Piëch, the all new Carrera 6 Type 906 was the first true prototype Porsche.

Featuring a steel-tube spaceframe chassis and making extensive use of lightweight alloys, the 906 was a featherweight, tipping the scales at 1,360 lbs. and standing just 38.6" from road to roof. The car’s fiberglass bodywork was developed in the wind tunnel, resulting in a slippery 0.35 drag coefficient and space-age styling, with exotic features, including gullwing doors, large side-pod fuel tanks, and an aerodynamically effective Kamm tail. At the heart of the 906 was a twin-plug, two-liter flat-six, derived from the production 911 and cast in magnesium.

The Carrera 6 was an immediate success in motorsports, debuting with a class win at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona. From there, 906s went on to capture class wins at Sebring and Monza, followed by an outright victory at the Targa Florio. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 906s placed 4-5-6-7 behind three seven-liter GT40 Mk IIs, outlasting all other prototype entries from Ferrari, Chaparral, and Matra.

In total, Porsche built approximately 65 examples of the Carrera 6 between 1966 and 1967. Run under the Porsche works team through 1967 and by numerous privateers well into the 1970s, 906s were among the most successful prototype racing cars of the era.

The Porsche presented here, chassis no. 906-159, was completed in January 1967 and is one of a limited number of highly evolved 906Es, with the "E" standing for einspritzrung, or fuel injection.

As its designation suggests, the 906E featured a new fuel-injected Type 901/21 engine that produced 10 more bhp along with greater efficiency, flexibility, and reliability. Other more subtle changes contributed to an all-around faster and more refined version of the original Carrera 6.

For the 1967 season, Porsche built four new 906E chassis – 906-157 through 906-160 – to be entered by the factory team at Daytona and Sebring. All four cars featured a longer nose section with revised ducting and more voluminous rear fenders. The four works 906Es, with their fuel-injected engines, myriad chassis developments, and long-nose, short-tail bodywork represent the ultimate evolution of the Carrera 6 design.

No. 906-159 was one of four cars (two 906Es and two 910s) entered by the Porsche factory team for the 12 Hours of Sebring in April 1967. Painted Grand Prix White with blue trim and wearing race no. 38, this car was entrusted to two up-and-coming American drivers, Joe Buzzetta and Peter Gregg, for the punishing endurance event. After 12 hours of action-packed racing, 906-159 finished 23 laps behind the winning Mk IV GT40 and claimed an impressive 7th Overall with a 4th in Class result for Porsche.

After the excellent result at Sebring, 906-159 was sold to influential West Coast car dealer Otto Zipper. During the early to mid-1960s, Zipper was at the forefront of Porsche racing in the US, with a stable of the latest sports cars and a roster of talented drivers, including Ken Miles, Scooter Patrick, and Davey Jordan. Prior to its USRRC debut at Stardust International Raceway near Las Vegas, 906-159 was refinished in the striking Zipper team livery – dark blue with three silver stripes – and fitted with a roof-mounted mirror.

Between April 1967 and November 1968, Zipper entered the 906E in numerous SCCA and USRRC races. During this period, 906-159 almost always wore race no. 33 and was driven by Scooter Patrick, Don Wester, or Don Pike.

Running in short-course sprint races against large-displacement V-8 sports racers, the Zipper 906E, which Porsche designed for high-speed endurance events, was often outclassed in terms of outright performance. Nevertheless, Patrick and Wester drove 906-159 to class and overall wins at Riverside, Santa Barbara, Kent, and Laguna Seca. Significantly, Scooter Patrick’s outstanding performance throughout the 1967 season resulted in a 1st Place tie with Joe Buzzetta for the USRRC Under Two-Liter Championship.

Following the 1968 racing season, Zipper sold 906-159 to fellow Southern California dealer Vasek Polak. Mr. Polak, in turn, sold the 906E to Gustav Mason O’Keiff, an amateur racing driver living in Houston. O’Keiff entered the Porsche in several ARRC and SCCA events well into 1971.

By 1973, 906-159 was officially retired from competition use and subsequently stored for about 15 years before being sold to Porsche collector Warren Eads of Novato, California. An article published in the August 1992 issue of Excellence: The Magazine About Porsche details the comprehensive restoration of 906-159 undertaken by Robert Hatchman of Autocraft in Grants Pass, Oregon.

At this time, the 906 was considered an ideal candidate for restoration, as its tubular frame was intact, though in need of repair. Importantly, the Porsche also came with a cache of key components, including the engine and transaxle that remain in the car today. The engine, stamped number 910-032, is believed to be a proper-type 901/21 unit that may have been run with 906-159 during the later years of its racing career. The new fiberglass bodywork, executed by Autocraft in the correct long-nose, short-tail specification, was refinished in the Zipper livery that 906-159 had raced with in 1967 and 1968.

After owning the 906E for a decade, Mr. Eads sold the car to Gerald Barnes of Anaheim Hills, California. Following several years in Mr. Barnes’ care, 906-159 joined Jerry Seinfeld’s extensive Porsche collection. The current owner, a collector of great Porsche road and racing cars, elected to refinish 906-159 in its original 1967 Sebring livery, recognizing its service as a factory team car. The recent cosmetic restoration, beautifully executed by Jeff’s Resurrections in Taylor, Texas, is responsible for the accurate presentation seen today.

One of only six 906s ever campaigned by the Porsche works team in the US, 906-159 compiled an enviable race record in a variety of FIA, SCCA, and USRRC events. Unlike many 906s, this late-production fuel-injected example possesses a continuous provenance and a singular identity, with its history well documented in several important books on the marque and model.

These important qualities, along with its outstanding professional preparation and eligibility for leading historic events, contribute to this 906E’s reputation as one of the finest surviving examples from a rare breed of Porsche prototype racers.

For the collector searching for a historically significant Porsche prototype, we encourage serious consideration of 906-159.