The 804 debuted at the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on 20 May. This was also the debut race for the Lotus 25 monocoque chassis. The Porsche team was under instructions from Ferry Porsche that the cars should be returned to Stuttgart if they did not perform well in practice. Gurney started from eighth; Bonnier from thirteenth. Gurney managed to climb to third place but retired on lap ten after struggling with a broken shift linkage. Bonnier finished seventh, behind Carel Godin de Beaufort and his four-cylinder 718.