Test drive Porsche 804 from Formula 1: old silver

The last German "Silver Arrow" to win in Formula 1

50 years old, but still loud - at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. The Porsche 804 is celebrating a round anniversary. auto motor und sport has been piloting the famous Grand Prix winner since 1962.

Have you ever sat on a powder keg? This is probably how Dan Gurney felt in 1962. At the Nürburgring north track, in his Formula One Porsche, he fought for victory over Graham Hill and John Surtees. He has a stupid accident - the battery at his feet is torn off the mounting mechanism, and he is desperately trying to fix it with his left foot. Fear lurks deep in his brain - what happens if it closes and flares up? This could have fatal consequences. Because the driver on the Porsche 1 sits as if in the center of the tank. The main tank - left, right and behind it - was filled with 804 liters of high-octane gasoline. The remaining 75 liters are sprayed into the front tanks around the driver's feet.

Iron Nerves helped Gurney, and he finished third, and later called the German Grand Prix his best race with a result of 804. In a German Formula 1 car, he already won the French Grand Prix, and a week later ... Formula circle at the Zolitude track near Stuttgart.

Porsche 804 with a small flat-eight engine

Since then, 50 years have passed. The Porsche 804 is back in front of the box - not at the Nürburgring and not in Rouen, but at the newly renovated Red Bull Ring in Austria. Today, to drive a Formula 1 car, you need a dozen assistants. All I need is Klaus Bischoff, head of the Porsche Wheel Museum in Stuttgart. He had already begun warming up the eight-cylinder engine. The boxer engine in a Porsche car is tiny - just 1,5 liters. In turn, he is very loud and growls like his best brothers. Eight cylinders are air-cooled. A large fan blows them 84 liters of air per minute. This requires nine horsepower, but saves radiator and coolant.

Since American Gurney was a huge player for Formula 1, racing Porsche felt comfortable. At least the steering wheel can be removed - it's easier to sit down by the narrow "only handle". When it comes to getting into the car, it's best not to hold on to the rainbow, it should protect you when it rolls over. It wobbles like it's a mockup. It is not recommended to try its action in practice. A thin tube, at best, can serve as a support for the back of the head.

Nothing happens below 6000 rpm.

You need to sit on the seat, rest your hands on the outside of the body and carefully pierce your feet towards the pedals. The left leg rests on the battery. A steel cable runs between the legs - it activates the clutch. Otherwise, everything is in its place: on the left is the clutch pedal, in the middle - on the brake, on the right - on the accelerator. The ignition key is located on the top right of the dashboard. On the left are the pins for starting the fuel pumps. They are important because during the race the gasoline is pumped from the tanks so intelligently that the weight distribution of 46 percent on the front and 54 percent on the rear axle remains as constant as possible.

To the left of the tubular frame are the main electrical switch and the starting lever. Therefore, there is no need for a mechanic with a starting generator, because as soon as you pull hard on the lever, eight cylinders start pounding behind you. First gear is engaged with some pressure. You accelerate, release the clutch and go. But what is happening? The taste starts to break down. The first thing you learn is that high speeds are needed here. Below 6000 you can't do anything. And the upper limit is 8200. Then, in case of emergency, it was possible to raise another thousand.

However, above 6000 rpm, the bike starts to pull with amazing force. No wonder, because you need to accelerate exactly 452 kilograms plus the driver and fuel. The frame weighs 38 kilograms, the aluminum body weighs only 25. Later, the first plastic body parts were used on the 804.

The first time you hit the brakes, the pilot is terrified

The transmission gears are quite "short". First, second - and here is the next surprise: the six-speed gearbox has no channels for moving the lever. “Be careful when switching,” Klaus Bischoff warned me. I later found out that after the first race, Dan Gurney asked for a channel plate. In third gear, you need to wait a bit to make sure the lever is in the middle lane. Anything else will backfire: if you shift into fifth gear, you'll lose traction, the first result being engine destruction.

However, after some practice, you will learn how to carefully shift gears. Instead, you are in for the next surprise. The first turn, which stops intensively - "Remus-to the right" is taken in first gear. Formula 1 car is the first Porsche with disc brakes. More specifically, internally coated disc brakes, i.e., a combination of drum and disc brakes. An interesting technical solution. Unfortunately, with a few shortcomings. The first time you press the brake pedal, the pilot is horrified - the pedal drops almost to the floor plate. In professional jargon, this is called a "long pedal". Luckily, I approached the first big corner with enough respect and started pedaling in no time. Then came the braking effect.

Porsche 804 addictive

Test pilot Herbert Linge recalls: "The brakes worked great, but they had to be prepared before turning." This is because the vibrations of the wheel movements move the pads away from the brake disc. This should be specially informed, but these subtleties have long been included in everyday automotive life these days. The pilots of that time had to put up with these small inconveniences, but you quickly get used to them. Even more damaging to the brakes is a route like the Red Bull Ring, with its short straight sections and tight corners, some of which, like the Rint-Right, are also descents.

However, piloting an 804 poses a serious addiction threat. The pilot is reclining in the cockpit, and his back is almost losing asphalt. In front of his eyes are open wheels, over which he can accurately aim in turns and curbs. The single-seat Porsche with narrow tires behaves more like a passenger car than a Formula 1 race car - it's understeer and oversteer, but it's easy to drive. You have long forgotten that you are sitting in a mobile barrel of gasoline. Probably, it was the same with the former characters of the Grand Prix. Pleasure peaked, and fear faded into the background.

Eight-cylinder boxer on other winning cars

In fact, the 804's career lasted only one hot summer. Even before the end of the 1962 season, the head of the company, Ferry Porsche, said: "We give up." In the future, Porsche intended to race cars close to stock. In 1962, Formula 1 was dominated by English teams, BRM won the World Championship. And with its new aluminum monocoque chassis, Lotus is not only making history with tubular frame construction, but also revolutionizing Formula 1.

The 804 is in a museum, but some parts of the project have survived the demise of Formula 1. For example, the disc brakes are, of course, vastly improved. Or the eight-cylinder boxer that was originally a constant source of concern for the Porsche team because it didn't develop enough power, but later got into great shape. With a working volume of 1,5 liters, it reaches a maximum power of 200 hp. When another half-liter is added to the cubic capacity, the power increases to 270 hp. In the Porsche 907 the engine won the 24 Hours of Daytona, in the 910 he won the European Alpine Ski Championship, and in 1968 in the 908 he even won the Targa Florio in Sicily.

The Porsche 804 remains an important part of history. Exactly on the occasion of his 50th birthday, Nico Rosberg with Mercedes is celebrating another victory of the German team in Formula 1. Yes, it came from competitors, but still it can be considered as a nice birthday present.

TECHNICAL DATA

BODY Single seater Formula 1 racing car, steel tube grille frame, aluminum body, length x width x height 3600 x 1615 x 800 mm, wheelbase 2300 mm, front / rear track 1300/1330 mm, tank capacity 150 l, net weight 452 kg.

SUSPENSION Independent front and rear suspension with double wishbones, torsion springs, telescopic shock absorbers, front and rear anti-roll bars, front and rear disc brakes, front tires 5.00 x 15 R, rear 6.50 x 15 R.

POWER TRANSMISSION Rear-wheel drive, six-speed transmission with limited slip differential.

ENGINE Air-cooled, eight-cylinder boxer engine, four overhead camshafts, two spark plugs per cylinder, displacement 1494 cc, 3 kW (132 hp) @ 180 rpm, max. torque 9200 Nm at 156 rpm.

DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS Maximum speed approx. 270 km / h.

Text: Bernd Ostman

Photo: Achim Hartmann, LAT, Porsche-Archiv