Beschreibung:

This most attractively presented Porsche 906 – better known in period as the ‘Carrera 6’ – was delivered new on April 5, 1966, via the Swiss Porsche importer, AMAG, to the order of the André Wicky Racing Team of Lausanne. Andre Wicky was a broadly experienced racing driver who had competed in a wide variety of categories up to and including Formula 1. He took his new Porsche 906 to Monza Autodrome in Italy for its racing debut in the important 1,000Kms race on the annual Liberation Day holiday of April 25. The car ran well and Wicky finished 5th in class, co-driving with Andre Knörr. The Swiss owner then turned his attention to a series of against-the-clock mountain climb events, which achieved considerable stature in Europe during that period, and in a succession of three such outings Porsche 906 ‘135’ achieved a string of 2nd, 3rd and 4th-place results. In August 1966, Wicky ran the car on the very fast road circuit at Hockenheim in Germany, finishing 3rd, and in September competed in further French and German mountain climbs, achieving 2nd, 4th and 5th-place finishes. Returning to the endurance racing arena once again in October that year for the 1,000km of Paris, Wicky shared the wheel of ‘135’ with the experienced French driver Jean-Pierre Hanrioud, and they were able to excel – this 2-litre, flat-6, air-cooled Porsche 906 finishing triumphantly in second position overall, headed only by the Ferrari 250LM of David Piper/ Michael Parkes! The Franco-Swiss Porsche pairing thus won their 2-litre Group 6 class by a healthy margin. Encouraged by the Porsche 906’s performance and reliability, André Wicky then invested in a new Porsche 910 for the 1967 season, but in May that year he contested two French mountain-climb events in ‘135’ and won them both, adding two more such successes later that season in September. At the end of June he co-drove ‘135’ with fellow Swiss endurance and mountain-climb specialist Edgar Berney in the important Reims 12-Hours classic. After yet another intelligent, well-judged race they finished very strongly, in 5th place overall, behind the winning 7-litre Ford GT Mark 2, a Ferrari P2/3, and two sister works-supported Porsche 906s. This Porsche was also credited with 4th place overall in the Index of Performance competition. In October, Wicky ran the 906 in the Moroccan Grand Prix event for sports and grand touring cars, scoring another victory. The car’s subsequent history includes a string of enthusiastic American ownerships. In 1975 a complete body-off restoration was commissioned by owner E. Kenneth Williams Jr of New Jersey, Paul Burns of MRG Racing Group being entrusted with the work. Some glassfibre components were acquired from British source Bill Bradley. This restoration was almost complete in 1978 when the car was sold to Paul DeFriece of Atlanta, Georgia, also long-term owner of ‘906.121’. He replaced ‘135’s brittle magnesium crankcase with an aluminium component and completed the restoration. He then sold ‘135’ to Scott Flanders of Florida in 1981, and the car was raced in Vintage events by his wife Mary Flanders until 1985, campaigning it alongside their other 906 – chassis ‘138. The Flanders eventually sold ‘135’ to Dick Barbour Racing of San Diego, California, and in 1988 it passed via Roy S. Walzer of Connecticut to Marc Sherman of New York. After retaining the car for ten years, Mr Sherman sold it to Scott Gauthier of Phoenix, Arizona, who had the car rebuilt over a two-year period by Patrick Motorsports. Bills total almost $200,000 for this work. As offered here ‘135’ retains its original chassis and combination of original and replacement body panels, all restored to extremely high finish standards. A road-tuned 2.7-litre engine is installed, but a spare 2-litre 906 engine – believed to incorporate what survives of the original power unit – is offered with this Lot. The car also features modern fuel tanks and fire extinguishing system, MSD ignition and a spare set of Fuchs wheels.