A historically significant 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder by Wendler is set to cross the block at RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction...
Sportscar ace Jack McAfee was well-versed in racing powerful, if temperamental, Ferraris for team owner John Edgar. Recognizing the superior...
The Car That Taught Porsche How to Win 1954 Porsche 550 Spyder (Image credit: Petersen Auto Museum) There is a...
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The Porsche 550 was the brand’s first production racing car, designed to be both street legal and track-ready, allowing drivers...
By 1953, Porsche had been successful racing its 356, but understood that a purpose-built race car would be needed to...
As their first dedicated sports racing car, the 550 RS Spyder was raced to Porsche’s first major victory at the...
Without question, the Porsche 550 Spyder is recognized as the first Porsche that was purpose-built for racing. This compact, mid-engine...
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Four originals: Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, his son Ferdinand, and two Porsche 550 Spyders on the Großglockner High Alpine Road –...
The Porsche 550 was Porsche’s first production racing car. The car was completely street legal, so it could be driven...
Porsche’s Spyders stole the limelight, but in the 1950s they had serious rivals in both BMW and EMW, who produced...
Since 1951, Porsche has established an unrivaled dominance as overall champions at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (19 wins),...
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Barn Find of the Year Expected to Fetch Up to US$2MM The Porsche 550 was Porsche’s first production racing car,...
A 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder was the definite star of the recently concluded Bonhams Amelia Island Auction after achieving a...
Porsche 550A RS Spyder Pictures Appearing at the end of 1956, the 550A differed from its predecessor by use of...
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A session at Laguna Seca in a Porsche 550 Spyder...
Family Porsche 550 Spyder locked away in shipping container ...
Racing the Porsche 550 Spyder at Goodwood Andy Prill gives us a taste of what it’s like to race around...
Porsche 550 Spyder: A Life Dedicated Nürburgring Nordschleife in a Porsche 550 Spyder....
Porsche 550 Spyder: A Life Dedicated Fibersteel has been developing and manufacturing aftermarket parts for original and reproduction Porsche 550...
Porsche 550 Spyder Replica: Visceral Christophe Schmidt, co-founder of A & S, and Anders Warming, Automotive designer, discuss the 1955...
Porsche 550 Spyder Replica: Visceral Eric Rothenhaus comes from a family that viewed cars differently than he did. Whereas a...
Porsche 550 Spyder Production Porsche assigned build numbers to each of the 550/1500RS cars built (RS short of rennsport which...
Porsche 550 Prototype Spyder Specifications In late 1953, Porsche showcased a more definitive version of the 550 with a quad-cam...
Porsche 550 Prototype Spyder Pictures Porsche 550 Prototype Spyder Pictures ...
Porsche 550 Prototype Coupe Specifications The first two Porsche 550s were coupes and had slightly different specifications than the 550...
Porsche 550 Spyder Chassis Numbers & Stories Chassis #550-0016 to #550-0090 One year before Porsche started production of the legendary...
Porsche 550 RS Spyder Specifications Starting with Chassis 550-03 (the third Porsche 550 prototype), Porsche gave the 550 the latest...
Porsche 550 (1953-1956) Introduction Porsche needed a race car to compete in the roadster class, and that’s just what the...
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Porsche: The Carrera Dynasty by Glen Smale © Glen Smale A Spanish noun, ‘carrera’ can mean road, track or race...
February 1, 1954, the city of New York. The Porsche-550, chassis 04 returned from the Gulf of Mexico after participating...
SportErfolge: by Tony Adriaensens – page photographs by © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale Simply titled, SportErfolge (English: Success in Sport), this...
Porsche – The Golden Years: Leonardo Acerbi © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale It is always a pleasure when a top-quality book...
On August 18, Annie Bousquet, during the arrival of the record in one hour, lost control and got into an...
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© Porsche Spyders 1956-1964: Type 550A, RSK and 718 With just 125 pages in total, this book is not a...
A rare and iconic ex-Le Mans Porsche 550A Spyder will come under the hammer at Bonhams’ Scottsdale sale on 19...
Porsche 550 RS Spyder Pictures...
Porsche 550 RS Spyder Pictures ...
Porsche 550 Prototype Coupé Pictures Porsche produced only two 550 coupes, the 550-01 and 550-02. The body of the car...
Porsche 550A RS Spyder Pictures...
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The 550A was based on Porsche’s first purpose-built racing car, the mid-engined RS 550 Spyder. Appearing at the end of 1956, the 550A differed from its predecessor by use of a full tube spaceframe with several rear supportive cross-members, rather than the heavier welded-up sheet steel internal structure of the 550. The rear swing axles of the 550 were replaced by a new low-pivot arrangement that made handling much more predictable.
The Porsche 550 Spyder was introduced at the 1953 Paris Auto Show. It was simple, small and packed a real punch. It was Porsche's first production racing car. The car was completely street legal, so it could be driven to the races and back home. A really special engine was developed for it, engineered by Ernst Fuhrmann. It was a flat DOHC engine, meaning it had 4 overhead camshafts like the Porsche type 360 design for Formula 1.
In 1953 Porsche created a series of 550 prototypes and 550-03 became the most important car in Porsche history by winning the 1954 Carrera Panamerica with Hans Herrmann at the wheel. This singular victory lent the Carrera nameplate to future models and also marked the first international victory of a mid-engine car. Only 15 prototypes were made until regular production began in 1954 of the Porsche RS Spyder.
One year before Porsche started production of the legendary RS Spyder, they experimented several unique 550 Prototypes. Two of these were fitted with removable hardtops that transformed the diminutive roadster into a sleek coupe. These were quite successful on faster circuits, but the roadster was later preferred as a more saleable car. The Coupes were retained by the factory to contest the Carrera Panamericana race.




























































