No thoughts, head empty, just vibes. When the world around you is feeling just a little bit too stressful, all you have to do is go to this video and click the play button, then put it on repeat. The soothing sounds of a Porsche 904’s 2-liter flat-six engine screaming out as it rips around the gorgeous and legendary Spa Francorchamps racetrack in Belgium simply can’t be beat. This is better than ASMR, this is better than meditation, heck, this might be better than sleep! I just clicked that play button and immediately melted into a relaxed state.
While many 904s were delivered with Fuhrmann four-cam engines, this one wears a later 2-liter 6-cylinder, similar to the all-race unit found in the later 911 R and 906. With around 200 horsepower and a race weight of just under 1500 pounds, thanks to its bonded fiberglass bodywork construction, the 904 was [and is] a fast machine.
They just don’t make race cars like this anymore. The way this machine sings is purely mechanical, and with those giant megaphone pipes out the back you can hear its song for a long time after it has exited the frame. This is one of the best videos to watch to really take in that effect. The very first shot of the car is it exiting the Raidillon/Eau Rouge complex, and you can hear the exhaust note roaring for five beats before the frame changes, as the car scoots its way down the Kemmel Straight toward Les Combes.
The 904 will always hold a special part of Porsche history, as it is one of the most beautiful and successful racing cars of all time. This particular car didn’t win the day, however, as it was entered in a 90-minute endurance race for vintage cars and retired from the competition after just 5 laps with some kind of failure. Better luck next time, I suppose.