The Porsche 550 was the brand’s first production racing car, designed to be both street legal and track-ready, allowing drivers to race and then drive it home. A unique engine, developed by Ernst Fuhrmann, powered the 550. This flat DOHC engine had four overhead camshafts, similar to the Porsche Type...
By 1953, Porsche had been successful racing its 356, but understood that a purpose-built race car would be needed to compete at motor sport’s highest levels. The resulting 550 Spyder, featuring lightweight aluminum bodywork and a powerful four-cam Carrera engine, was one of the most successful race cars of the...
Without question, the Porsche 550 Spyder is recognized as the first Porsche that was purpose-built for racing. This compact, mid-engine sports car significantly impacted events such as the Targa Florio, Mille Miglia, 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Carrera Panamericana, often outperforming larger and more powerful rivals from Ferrari and...
Since 1951, Porsche has established an unrivaled dominance as overall champions at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (19 wins), 12 Hours of Sebring (18 wins), 24 Hours of Daytona (18 wins), and Targa Florio (11 wins)—to say nothing of the 100-plus class victories which Porsche entries have secured in...
Barn Find of the Year Expected to Fetch Up to US$2MM The Porsche 550 was Porsche’s first production racing car, completely street legal, it could be driven to the races and back home. It had a flat DOHC engine, meaning it had 4 overhead camshafts like the Porsche type 360...
A 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder was the definite star of the recently concluded Bonhams Amelia Island Auction after achieving a final sale price of $4,185,000. It was definitely the queen of the event after which had a total sale of $13.5 million and an impressive 95% sell-through rate. A lot...
A rare and iconic ex-Le Mans Porsche 550A Spyder will come under the hammer at Bonhams’ Scottsdale sale on 19 January 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. Chassis #550A-0145 is the second-to-last 550A built and is a veteran of four world championship races while being campaigned as a works entry by Porsche...