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The Porsche 904 was produced from 1964 to 1965 as a successor to 718, and marked the beginning of a series of sportscars that culminated in the mighty Porsche 917.  Porsche originally developed the 904 GTS for competition in the FIA-GT class at international racing events. The street-legal version debuted in 1964 in order to comply with GT-class homologation regulations, which require that a minimum number of production models be sold in the market. Both versions featured the sleek, fiberglass body (a first for Porsche at that time) joined to the stiff, steel chassis for extra rigidity. The 904’s mid-engine design was inherited from the mighty Porsche 718, or RSK, Porsche’s dominant race car.

Race-prepped, four-cylinder Porsche 904s weighed in at approximately 1,443 pounds (655 kg), and could easily achieve 0-60 in under six seconds, and a top speed of 160 MPH.

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The Aston Martin DBS V-8 was produced fro 1969 to 1990 — the DBS (and DB5) will forever be remembered as secret agent James Bond’s sleek and stylish vehicle of choice. Development of the V-8 began in 1967, in large part due to strong demand from loyal customers wanting more horsepower than was available in the current straight-6 engine.

When the DBS V-8 finally debuted in 1969, the 5.3 liter engine with dual overhead camshafts was capable of producing up to 315 HP, and could easily achieve 0-60 in under six seconds, and a top speed of 160 MPH.

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The Jensen Interceptor was hand-built in the UK from 1966 to 1976. The Interceptor name was borrowed  from an earlier model that Jensen Motors had made from 1950 to 1957. The new Interceptor broke with traditional Jensen building methods by having the new body designed by an outside firm — Carrozzeria Touring of Italy — rather than the in-house staff. The early bodies were Italian-built, by Vignale, before production by Jensen themselves began – with subtle body modifications – in the West Bromwich plant.

Power was supplied by Chrysler — initially a 383 c.i. V-8 was standard, and later super-sized to a 440 c.i. big block. Later options also included a 4-bbl, or SP (Six-Pack) model of 1971–73, offered 3×2-bbl; only 232 were built and had the distinction of being the most powerful car ever to have been made by Jensen, maxing out at 390 HP.

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What in the world?  I’d love to know more about the Scorpio concept car above…

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Designed to compete in GT Racing, the Ferrari 250 GTO had a short run, and was only produced from 1962 to 1964.  Thirty-six cars were made from 1962 to 1963, and in 1964 the ‘Series II’ was introduced, with only three being made.  In total, only thirty-nine Ferrari GTOs were ever produced.   Power was supplied by a 3.0L V-12, except for the 1964 ‘Series II’ GTOs (often called the 330 GTO), which were equipped with 4.0L V-12s.  The 250 GTO won the World Manufacturer’s Championship in 1962, 1963, and 1964 — being one of the last front-engined cars to dominate sports car racing.

While many modern exotics eclipse the Ferrari GTO in terms of flat-out performance, few fare better in both form and function. During its heyday, the GTO reigned supreme — and is still one of the most stunning sports cars ever designed, by Ferrari, or anyone else — and one of the most collectible.

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In 1976, BMW Motorsport Division began development of a GT race car for homologation in Group 4 and Group 5 racing. To qualify, BMW had to build at least 400 production cars in 24 months. The car became known as the “Mid-Engined BMW M1 Project” (E26).

From 1978 to 1981, the BMW M1 was offered to the public– 455 M1’s were hand-built by BMW Motorsport during that time. The M1, the only mid-engined BMW mass-produced, with its throaty 6 cylinder engine and sleek styling made it a lust-worthy in the eyes of many an auto enthusiast.

The Giugiaro-designed M1 was to be assembled by Lamborghini, but Lamborghini’s unstable financial situation and assembly delays caused BMW to move assembly to Baur– the German convertible builders. By the time production resumed, the homologation rules for international Group 5 racing had been changed. Since BMW had not met the required sales figures, the M1 went to the new Procar series instead. By the time BMW had sold enough cars, the M1 was no longer competitive for Group 5 racing. In 1981, David Cowart and Kenper Miller won the IMSA GTO category. The M1 Procars became largely  featured as a support series for most Formula 1 races throughout Europe until the car was discontinued in 1981.

The BMW M1 was powered by a twin-cam M88/1 3.5 L 6-cylinder engine with Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection. A version of this motor was later used in the South African version of the BMW 745i, of which 209 examples were built between 1984 and 1986, as well as the E24 BMW M6/M635CSi and E28 BMW M5. The engine had six separate throttle butterflies, four valves per cylinder and produced 273 HP, and could achieve a top speed of 160 MPH. Turbocharged racing versions of the M1 were capable of producing around 850 HP.

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