Photo: Riccardo Angelini/Instagram
These days, Porsche's top-tier racecars are pretty far from the machines you can find in the carmaker's showrooms (the upcoming Le Mans Hypercar class might change that, but Zuffehausen has shown no intention of returning to Le Mans past the 911 tier), but things haven't always been so. Let's take the 906, for example - introduced in 1966, this was the last road-legal racecar built by the German automaker.
Featuring a fiberglass body and packing a 1.9-liter flat-six motor, the motorsport toy tipped the scales at just 580 kg (1,280 lbs) - its relatively small engine didn't stop it from hitting 280 kph (170 mph) at Le Mans, though. Speaking of which, during the infamous 1966 Le Mans race that saw the Ford GT40 grabbing the first three places (yep, the subject of the Ford v Ferrari movie), the 906 grabbed the 4-7 spots, one-upping the V12-animated Prancing Horses.
Nowadays, a 906 revival would be both desirable and possible - for one, this could be the successor to the 918 Spyder. And, in case you're wondering why the German carmaker hasn't introduced one yet, the main reason revolves around Porsche waiting for advances on the EV front, since its halo model has to be a piece of innovation on wheels.
Then there's the upcoming Le Mans Hypercar class, which should start next year (here's to hoping the Coronavirus doesn't affect this). Destined to replace the LMP1 tier that Zuffenhausen left for Formula E, this class will bring back homologation specials, so it would easily allow the Germans to deliver a street vehicle-racercar pair.
However, the automaker hasn't shown interest in joining the said table, at least not so far. Of course, this doesn't stop us from dreaming, which is why I've brought along a rendering that portrays a modern-day Porsche 906.
The visual nods to the original, which create a clear bridge between the two generations, are part of the racer's pure design, which is more than welcome in this era of complex design.
Interestingly, this new-age 906 was imagined by Riccardo Angelini, who is Tata Motors' lead exterior designer (the office in Turin, Italy). So now you know how the pixel master spends his spare time, at least when he's not penning Koenigseggs.
Update:The said artist has come up with track incarnation of his reborn 906 project.
Nowadays, a 906 revival would be both desirable and possible - for one, this could be the successor to the 918 Spyder. And, in case you're wondering why the German carmaker hasn't introduced one yet, the main reason revolves around Porsche waiting for advances on the EV front, since its halo model has to be a piece of innovation on wheels.
Then there's the upcoming Le Mans Hypercar class, which should start next year (here's to hoping the Coronavirus doesn't affect this). Destined to replace the LMP1 tier that Zuffenhausen left for Formula E, this class will bring back homologation specials, so it would easily allow the Germans to deliver a street vehicle-racercar pair.
However, the automaker hasn't shown interest in joining the said table, at least not so far. Of course, this doesn't stop us from dreaming, which is why I've brought along a rendering that portrays a modern-day Porsche 906.
The visual nods to the original, which create a clear bridge between the two generations, are part of the racer's pure design, which is more than welcome in this era of complex design.
Interestingly, this new-age 906 was imagined by Riccardo Angelini, who is Tata Motors' lead exterior designer (the office in Turin, Italy). So now you know how the pixel master spends his spare time, at least when he's not penning Koenigseggs.
Update:The said artist has come up with track incarnation of his reborn 906 project.
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