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Porsche 718

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Porsche 718

Porsche 718 RSK Spyder (1957 – 1959)

The 718 was a development of the successful Porsche 550A with improvements made to the body work and suspension. The car's full name is 718 RSK, where "RS" stands for RennSport (sports-racing) and the "K" reflects the shape of the car's revised torsion-bar suspension. It had a mid-engined layout and used the 142 horsepower (106 kW) 1.5-litre Type 547/3 quad-cam engine introduced in the 550A. There were several variations, including the RSK Mittellenker.
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Porsche Race Cars

Porsche 718 RSK Mittellenker (1958)

Porsche 718 RSK Mittellenker
Porsche created the single-seat 718 RSK Mittellenker (center steering) to compete in Formula 2 racing. The body differed from the 718 2-seat sports racer only to accommodate the central driving position, with revised seat, steering, shifter and pedal placement, and the aerodynamic fairing behind the driver’s head moved from the left to the middle. Instead of having a full-width cockpit, the body sides were extended toward the center to create a space solely for the single driver, with a short, wrap-around windshield.
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Porsche Race Cars

Porsche 718/2 F2 (1959 – 1963)

Porsche 718/2 F2
In 1959 Porsche unveiled the prototype of a narrow, open-wheeled car called the Porsche 718/2 that married the 718's mechanicals with a more traditional single-seat Formula body. 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. A total of five cars were built. Some of these four-cylinder cars were later raced in F1 under the 1962 1½ litre formula.
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Porsche Race Cars

Porsche 718 RS 60 Spyder (1960)

Porsche 718 RS 60
For the 1960 season the FIA made changes to the regulation regarding the windscreen and cockpit size. These rules changes together with a larger (1.6-litre) Type 547/3 engine, developing 160 horsepower (120 kW) and a new double wishbone rear suspension brought about the RS 60 model. The RS 60 brought Porsche victory at the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring with a car driven by Hans Herrmann and Olivier Gendebien. 1960 also saw Porsche win the Targa Florio with Hans Herrmann being joined on the winner podium by Jo Bonnier and Graham Hill. z
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Porsche Race Cars

Porsche 718/2-05 Experimental F2 (1960)

The fifth and the last of the 718/2 F2 cars, with chassis number 718/2-05 was an experimental formula racing car. It had the 718/2 chassis, but a different body. The car never got its own type number. It was a one-off car, continuous development project that later evolved into something that became the prototype for the 1961 Porsche 787 F1 car and then even for the 1962 Porsche 804 F1 car. 718/2-05, was first seen at the F2 race on Solitude race track near Stuttgart in July 1960.
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Porsche 718

Porsche 718 RS 61 Spyder (1961)

The 1961 Porsche RS was one of the last Spyders made by Porsche that used the potent 4-cam engine. It was a successor to the 1960 RS60 which was a highly developed version of the original 550 RS Spyder. These diminutive racecars excelled on the tighter courses like the Targa Florio which was first won by Porsche in 1956. That victory marked the first time a sports car with a midship engine had won a major motor sports event.
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Porsche Race Cars

Porsche 718 RS 61 LM Coupé (1961)

The story of the 718 coupé began in 1960 when a customer ordered a one-off design from Karosserie Wendler. The car was built on the Porsche 550 chassis. Front-end design came from the 718 Spyder. The roof and the rear end were unique creations by Wendler. For the Le Mans 24h race in June 1961, Porsche created two 718 RS 61 Coupés. They shared the side view silhouette of the Wendler coupé and the rear end of the 718 Spyder, but the front design was original to the car.
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Porsche Race Cars

Porsche 718 W-RS Spyder (1962 – 1964)

The 1961 4-cylinder special Spyder is the car that became the 1962 8-cylinder W-RS Spyder. It started during the 1961 racing season, when three special 718 racing cars were created for the factory team. Two of those special cars were built as coupés and one as a Spyder - with chassis number 718-047. For the 1962 season, the car got some changes and became known as the Porsche 718/8 W-RS Spyder. Out went the four cylinder and in came an eight-cylinder engine from the Porsche F1 race car (enlarged to 2 liters).
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Porsche Race Cars

Porsche 718 GTR Coupé (1962 – 1963)

The chassis number 718-046 of a 1961 718 RS 61 Coupé was used for a new car called 718 GTR in 1962.. The Coupé version was developed from this RS 61 donor and was initially fitted with a 4-cylinder engine. This car was also upgraded to an 8-cylinder F1 derived engine which produced 210 horsepower (160 kW). The car was also fitted with disc brakes. A GTR Coupé driven Jo Bonnier and Carlo Maria Abate won the 1963 Targa Florio making it three wins at the event for a 718 car.
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Porsche 718

Porsche 718 RS60 Spyder – Pictures & Gallery

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Porsche 718 RS 60 Spyder Pictures Despite being officially classified as a Type 718, the RS 60 improved upon its direct predecessor mechanically while remaining visually similar. As you can see in the 718 RS60 pictures below, it has a wider cockpit and larger 15-inch wheels. You may not see...
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Book Reviews

Porsche Spyders 1956-1964

© Porsche Spyders 1956-1964: Type 550A, RSK and 718 With just 125 pages in total, this book is not a detailed narrative description of the Porsche Spyders between 1956-1964. But what it is, is a useful record of the Type 550A, RSK and 718 models, richly supported with period photography....
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Events

Porsche Rennsport Reunion VI – Laguna Seca 2018

It’s hard to know where to begin when writing a report on Porsche Rennsport Reunion VI. It was both an emotional and a sensory overload! A reunion with people not seen for a while, and the historical impact of all the rare cars. This was the sixth iteration put on...
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PRRPorsche News

Automuseum PROTOTYP in Hamburg

The author at the entrance to the Automuseum Prototyp, December 2018 This last December, we planned a trip to Hamburg to visit with family and to see the Automuseum PROTOTYP. This time, though, I wanted to travel via a different route, not the normal Dover-Calais channel crossing. Stena Line offer...
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Book Reviews

Porsche – The Golden Years

Porsche – The Golden Years: Leonardo Acerbi © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale It is always a pleasure when a top-quality book lands on my desk, so when Porsche – The Golden Years arrived at the Porsche Road & Race offices, I was especially pleased. We had the pleasure of reviewing Ferrari...
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PRR

Grossmutter 718 W-RS Spyder – one of a kind

1961 Porsche 718 W-RS Spyder ‘Grossmutter’ (chassis #047) photographed at the Porsche Museum, May 2019 The word unique is a much-overused word today, as it is applied, it seems, to just about anything that is produced in small numbers, or even just to enhance a claim about something unusual. In...
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People & Profiles

Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss OBE 1929-2020

Sir Stirling sits back and relaxes at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed after being interviewed by the author It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Stirling Moss over the Easter weekend. He died on 12 April 2020 in Mayfair, London, England at the age...
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Porsche 718

The 1960 Crash of the Porsche 718 RSK

Internationales Flugplatzrennen Klagenfurt, 1960 (Austria). Second stage Cup der Österreischen Flugplatzrennen der ÖASC. Joseph (Sepp) Greger (on the photo — behind the driver) in a fight with David Piper and his Lotus 15 (№127). Porsche, having lost control, flies off the track at high speed and crashes into the parked...
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Book Reviews

SportErfolge

SportErfolge: by Tony Adriaensens – page photographs by © Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale Simply titled, SportErfolge (English: Success in Sport), this book came my way quite by surprise. It is not a book I knew anything about until I spotted it on the internet, and decided to look for a copy....
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The Story

Porsche 718 – The Story

The Porsche 718 Story & History Porsche 718 RSK / RS 60 / RS 61 / RS 62 Spyder (1957-1962) Key Accomplishments 250+ class victories and 600+ podium finishes European Hill Climb Champion 1958-1959-1960-1961 SCCA F Modified category champion 1959-1960-1961-1962 SCCA E Modified category champion 1960-1961-1962-1963 Targa Florio winner 1959-1960...
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Porsche Video

VIDEO: How to Drive a Porsche 718 Properly

The Porsche 718 from the driver’s seat From the folks at Petrolicious: “We’ve been blown away by the positive response to our film featuring the 1960 Targio Florio-winning Porsche 718 RS 60 being driven tastefully by Derek Bell. But’s time to come clean, however: we’ve been holding a little bit...
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Porsche Video

VIDEO: Porsche 718 History

Porsche 718 History Video The 718 was a development of the successful Porsche 550A with improvements being made to the body work and suspension. The car is a RennSport build with a wheelbase shorter (German ‘Kurz’) than typical of predecessors of the era and this led to the car being...
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Porsche 718

1959 Porsche 718 RSK Crash at Spa

On May 3, 1959, Christian «Bino» Heinz started at GP Spa, in his Porsche 718 RSK under number 20. On one of the first laps, at the apex of the well-known Eau Rouge turn, the pilot lost control of the rear axle of his car…...
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Porsche 718

Porsche Of The Day: 1960 Porsche 718 RS 60

Despite being made for the small engine displacement classes, Porsche nearly won the 1960 Manufacturers Championship with the RS 60. These purposeful racers featured 1.5, 1.6 or 1.7 liter engines in a low and lightweight chassis. They always won the 1.6 liter class, but typically raced in and among the...
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Porsche of the Day

Porsche Of The Day: 1960 Porsche 718 RS 60 Werks

Despite being made for the small engine displacement classes, Porsche nearly won the 1960 Manufacturers Championship with the RS 60. These purposeful racers featured 1.5, 1.6 or 1.7 liter engines in a low and lightweight chassis. They always won the 1.6 liter class, but typically raced in and among the...
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