RM Sotheby’s auction has put up for sale a rare racing Porsche — a prototype with the index 906 Carrera 6, assembled in March 1966. Porsche produced 65 such cars, but only 52, like this example, were intended for private customers.
The vehicle has a rich racing history, which includes victories. Since the rarity will be sold as part of a private auction program, price expectations are not announced. The experts from the Indy Auto Man dealership, offering used sports cars for sale in Indiana, prepared an overview of this legendary racing car.
Most successful racing vehicle
The Porsche 906 is considered one of the most successful models in the racing history of the German brand. The Porsche Carrera 6 was born out of Porsche’s quest to beat Ferrari in the mid-1960s. The car traces its roots to the 904 GTS and the sports cars built to win the European Hillclimb Championship.
Porsche had been a motorsport sensation throughout the 1950s, particularly in competitions that required a good power-to-weight ratio. Hillclimbing, for example, is a sport that relies on low weight, while massive engine power alone is no guarantee of victory. Porsche dominated the sport racing until 1965, when the Ferrari Dino 206 burst onto the scene and outperformed Porsche in many ways.
In response, a lightweight eight-cylinder sports car was developed based on the 904 model, with a tubular chassis that allowed the installation of two 100-liter fuel tanks on either side of the vehicle and suspension from Lotus. Due to its ability to jump on uneven track surfaces, it was nicknamed the Kangaroo.
The 904, with a space frame weighing 119 lbs, was too heavy for a full-fledged racing car. It was conceived as a universal car, suitable for both the track and public roads. In this role, the 904 was quite successful. It also turned out to be a milestone in the further development of cars for hill climbing. However, it could not ensure the sporting future of the company in the way that Porsche saw it. Therefore, the Kangaroo was chosen as the starting point for further development. Ultimately, it resulted in a model of a new level – Carrera 6, known as the 906 model.
Specifications of the rare species
In March 2025, the same auction house already put a similar Porsche up for auction, which was public. The auto was sold for $2,205,000. The example put up for sale this time was assembled for motorsport enthusiast Ermanno Spazzapane, and he actively competed in it, periodically achieving victories, but only for one season. Later, several more sportsmen owned the car and participated in circuit racing and hill climbs. In 1968, this Porsche 906 reached first place in its class at the Imola 500 race, which was held at the Emilia-Romagna circuit.
The Porsche 906 is based on a tubular space frame, a radical innovation compared to the previous 904 model. Several engine options were tested on the prototypes, but the most common was the racing six-cylinder “boxer” with a volume of 2.0 liters. It spun up to 8000 rpm, developed about 210 horsepower, and worked with a five-speed manual gearbox. Auctioneers note that the rarity had many owners, and almost each used the sports car for its intended purpose – first in full-fledged races and later in historic car races. The 906 was also regularly restored, rebuilt, and serviced. The car is currently in Japan.
Those who estimate style, power, and speed but can’t afford bold retro racing cars can test-drive and invest in not-so-mature sports models, including modern counterparts of the retro Carrera Porsche 718 Cayman and Panamera, available for sale in Indianapolis, Indiana.
