1955 porsche 550 spyder full#

The first ‘production’ 550 was assigned a 4-digit chassis number, 550-0016 with the last ‘documented’ spyder as 550-0090. Porsche assigned build numbers to each of the 550/1500RS cars built (RS short of rennsport which translates to ‘racing’ in English), with the prototype starting with 2-digit chassis numbers, 550-01 through to 550-15.

1955 porsche 550 spyder full#

For a full in-depth review of each chassis number please take a look at, we got most of this content from that wonderful site. Given that only 90 Porsche 550 Spyder’s were made, we decided to dive into each chassis and tell you a brief story about each variant and chassis number. Only 13 spyder-bodied prototypes were made ( Chassis #550-03 and #550-15) until regular production began in 1954 of the Porsche RS Spyder. These were quite successful on faster circuits, but the roadster was later preferred as a more saleable car. Two of these were fitted with removable hardtops ( Chassis #550-01 and #550-02) that transformed the diminutive roadster into a sleek coupe. One year before Porsche started production of the legendary RS Spyder, they experimented several unique 550 Prototypes. Each car is accounted for and documented and when they change hands, it happens at highly publicized auctions held by the world’s most established houses. Needless to say, a rare car of such a rich racing provenance and historical significance is a highly coveted collector car. In the hands of true aces, the nimble roadster was known to outpace many adversaries sporting bigger and more potent engines and as such, it was a true hero of a car. The Little Bastard is one of rare unaccounted examples of the 550 and is one of the greatest automotive mysteries still unsolved today.Ī paramount car for Porsche, the Type 550 was the forefather of all racing Porsches that followed. He was just twenty-four and had his 550 Spyder for a week. The 550 was hit from the driver’s side and James Dean succumbed to injuries. During the trip on Route 466, the speeding 550 collided with a Ford Custom driven by Donald Turnspeed. On September 30 1955, Dean and his mechanic Rolf Wutherich set out to take the Little Bastard to its first race in Salinas, California. That didn’t stop him from visiting the original Porsche outlaw Dean Jeffries who painted the number 130 on the hood and the doors, followed by ‘Little Bastard’ inscription on the rear. Young, famous, hot-headed, and reckless, Dean was quickly involved in several small incidents, leaving scars on the brand-new car. Hollywood’s brightest young star James Dean was an avid racer and being able to indulge in his passion, he bought a 550 Spyder, chassis number 550-0055. Sadly, the greatest cultural impact of the 550 was marked by a great tragedy. The very same year saw a heroic solo effort by Italian ace Umberto Maglioli who outpaced larger Ferraris and Maseratis in their home turf, winning the 1956 Targa Florio and cementing the 550’s reputation of a giant killer. Richard von Frankenberg and Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips finish 1st in class at 1956 Le Mans The 550A continued the success of its predecessor, winning in its class at the 1956 Nürburgring 1000 KM, followed by the in-class triumph at the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans. This rudimentary livery was a part of their partnership with two companies during its transatlantic campaigns Equipped with dual Solex 40 PJJ-4 2-barrel Weber 40 DCM double-downdraft carbs, it produced around 110 horsepower at 6,200 RPM and 89 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 RPM. To keep the powerhouse lubricated even during hard cornering, Type 547 utilized dry sump lubrication. The Type 547 engine was an aircooled 1.5-liter horizontally opposed four-cylinder with dual overhead camshafts, dual ignition, roller bearing camshaft, aluminum pistons, aluminum crankcase and aluminum cylinder heads with one intake and one exhaust valve per cylinder. The famed engineer thoroughly reworked the basic concept of a flat-four, creating the Type 547 engine. The first Porsche 550 Spyder prototypes were powered by the Type 528 engine, a flat-four unit taken from the 356 1500 S road car, and a direct derivative of the VW Beetle engine.Įven for a car as lightweight as the 550, 70 horsepower just wasn’t enough, so Ferry Porsche commissioned Ernst Fuhrman to construct a new one. To put it in perspective, that’s a half of what’s considered lightweight by today’s standards. The only upholstered part of the interior was the seats and that Spartan featureless cockpit was more than enough for a mid-1950s racing car.Īs a result of bare-bones philosophy, the Porsche 550 Spyder weighed just around 1300 lb.