In 1957 the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) changed their rules to allow cars with enveloping bodywork to compete in Formula races.

At the Berlin Grand Prix at AVUS the car won both its heat and the F2 class in the hands of driver Masten Gregory.

[7] The unpainted car was entered in the 1959 Monaco Grand Prix, where driver Wolfgang von Trips qualified twelfth, but crashed on the second lap of the race.

For 1960 the production 718/2, starting with chassis number 718201, received revised bodywork, a 6-speed transaxle, and a wheelbase extended by 100 mm (3.9 in).

The car had a new chassis that was longer than that of the 718/2 by an additional 100 mm (3.9 in) to accommodate the Type 753 flat-eight engine in development.

The cars placed 10th and 11th, but their lack of power and poor handling caused Ferry Porsche to retire the model.

Porsche would focus on building a brand new competitive formula race car with an eight-cylinder engine.

Porsche was assigned the project by the company's long-time chief body engineer Erwin Komenda.

The 804 gave Porsche its only F1 wins as a constructor, at the 1962 French Grand Prix, and at the (non-WC) Solituderennen at Castle Solitude in Stuttgart, both with Gurney as driver.

The 804 was narrower and lower, with a smoother surface than its predecessor that was achieved in part by using a horizontal cooling fan (vertical axis) on top of the new flat-eight engine, in contrast to the vertically mounted (horizontal axis) cooling fan used on the four-cylinder Fuhrmann engine.

Also at both front and rear, springing was provided by longitudinal torsion bars, and damping was by either Koni twin-tube or Bilstein monotube shock absorbers, mounted inboard.

The oversquare dimensions kept piston speeds low, and kept the engine narrow and as far out of the airflow on the sides of the car's tub as possible, although it was still wider than the 120° V6 and 90° V8s of the competition.

[19] May's changes included reducing the oil pressure, removing two of the engines five piston rings, using a new hardening process on the built-up Hirth crankshaft, narrowing the inlet ports, modifying the piston crowns and valve depth, using direct fuel injection, and adding a second non-drive fan impeller below the driven one.

May felt that the 547/3B could win Formula One races, and showed Porsche's engineers that the 804 chassis could be modified to take the four-cylinder.

He then struck an agreement with Ferry Porsche to have a 547/3B installed in a 718/2 that May would personally drive in practice at the 1962 Pau Grand Prix.

[17]: 318  With the improved six-speed transmission from the Type 718 and a ZF limited-slip differential, the car reached a top speed of 270 km/h (167.8 mph).

Gurney managed to climb to third place but retired on lap ten after struggling with a broken shift linkage.

Ferry Porsche was reluctant to commit to another race, reportedly ready to cancel the program at that point.

[8]: 284 [22] Gurney spent time on the track tuning the car and personally convinced the chairman to field a single 804 for the 1962 Monaco Grand Prix on 3 June.

The Porsche team sat out the Belgian Grand Prix, leaving privateer Godin de Beaufort to represent the marque with a seventh-place finish in his 718/2.

There was also a redesigned gear-shift mechanism, revised bodywork around the cockpit, a lower and more reclined seating position, and a detachable steering wheel.

[8]: 284, 285  After the development phase Ferry Porsche required that the cars be able to complete a full GP-race distance of 200 km (124.3 mi) around the Nürburgring without a mechanical breakdown, which Gurney was able to accomplish while bettering the track's existing lap times.

Gurney won the race with an average speed of 163.98 km/h (101.89 mph), having lapped Tony Maggs' second-place Cooper.

[25] At the 1962 German Grand Prix on 5 August at the Nürburgring's Nordschleife track, Gurney started from the pole position in the rain.

While wedging the battery against the bulkhead with his foot to keep it from shorting, Gurney ran wide on a corner, allowing Surtees past.

Prior to the race efforts had been made to lighten the car, with the front tubes of the upper A-arms removed and extensive drilling of lightly-stressed components.

[28] Just before the end of the season, prior to the running of the South African Grand Prix, Porsche halted its F1 activities.