The Porsche 906 Carrera 6 was Porsche’s two-liter six-cylinder race car of the mid-1960s. It won the 1966 Targa Florio in a Porsche-supported Scuderia Filipinetti entry. A road-legal 906 then won the 1967 Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji with Tetsu Ikuzawa driving. That win gave him a chance to join Porsche’s factory team for 1968.
In this article, we’ll explain where the Porsche 906 fits in Porsche’s mid-1960s racing story. We’ll cover the two-liter engine, the Targa Florio win, and the Fuji victory.
Contents
Quick Summary
- Name: The 906 and the Carrera 6 are the same car.
- Engine: A two-liter six-cylinder.
- Road use: The 906 that raced in Japan was a road-legal race car.
- 1966 Targa Florio: Willy Mairesse and Herbert Müller won in the Porsche-supported Scuderia Filipinetti entry.
- 1967 Japanese Grand Prix: Tetsu Ikuzawa won and set a 2:00.800 race-lap record.
- 911 R link: The 911 R’s race engine was very similar to the 906’s.
What the Porsche 906 Carrera 6 Was
Porsche’s own histories call this car the 906 Carrera 6, running the type number and the model name together.
For another Porsche racing car from the same era, see our Porsche 904 guide.
The 906 was a two-liter, six-cylinder car. That displacement put it in the two-liter class of the 1966 championship, the same season Hans Herrmann and Herbert Linge drove a 906 at Daytona.
The race engine in the 911 R was very similar to the one in the 906. For the road-car side of the story, see the Porsche 911 guide.
1966: The Targa Florio
The 906’s best-known result came on the Targa Florio, a race run on public roads in Sicily. One lap of the circuit covered 71.8 kilometers.
Willy Mairesse and Herbert Müller won in the Scuderia Filipinetti 906, an entry the factory supported. Vincenzo Arena and Antonio Pucci finished third. Hans Herrmann and Dieter Glemser retired their 906 before the finish.
1967: A Road-Legal 906 Wins the Japanese Grand Prix
A year after Sicily, the 906 turned up in a very different setting. The car Tetsu Ikuzawa raced at Fuji was a road-legal 906 with the two-liter six-cylinder engine.
Ikuzawa won the 1967 Japanese Grand Prix and set a race-lap record of 2:00.800 along the way. The win gave Ikuzawa a chance to join Porsche’s factory team for 1968.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Porsche 906 the same car as the Carrera 6?
Yes, the 906 and the Carrera 6 are the same car. Porsche’s own histories use the two names together as the 906 Carrera 6.
What engine did the Porsche 906 use?
The Porsche 906 Carrera 6 used a two-liter six-cylinder engine, which placed it in the two-liter racing class of the mid-1960s. The race engine in the 911 R was very similar to the one in the 906.
Was the Porsche 906 road legal?
Yes, the Porsche 906 that Tetsu Ikuzawa raced in Japan was a road-legal race car. He won the 1967 Japanese Grand Prix in it.
Did the Porsche 906 win the 1966 Targa Florio?
Yes, a Porsche 906 won the 1966 Targa Florio. Willy Mairesse and Herbert Müller drove the winning car, a Scuderia Filipinetti entry that Porsche supported. Vincenzo Arena and Antonio Pucci finished third.
What did Tetsu Ikuzawa achieve in a Porsche 906?
Tetsu Ikuzawa won the 1967 Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji in a Porsche 906 and set a race-lap record of 2:00.800. The result earned him a chance to join Porsche’s factory team for 1968.
Images: Jo Siffert driving a Porsche 906 in 1966 by Lothar Spurzem, CC BY-SA 2.0 DE. Porsche 906 Carrera 6 at the Porsche Museum by Micap, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.
