![]() To reduce travel costs a bit, the organizers allowed company names to be put on the cars, which transferred sponsorship money for the purpose. ![]() Porsche sent two 550 Coupés and two Spyders to Mexico for the Carrera Panamericana in November 1953. In the category up to 1.5 liters, on the other hand, there were few serious contenders. ![]() However, they couldn’t do much against the larger classes. On the circuit and in hillclimbs, the lightweight Spyders raced from victory to victory. Like the previous 550s, they found favor with many teams. Porsche sold a further 46 units of the 550 A Spyder. Higher compression and Weber instead of Solex carburetors also increased output to 99 kW/135 hp. The fuel tank placed on the front axle grew from 68 to 90 liters. Compared with the previous frame, the weight was reduced by 16 to just 43 kilograms. This received a tube frame instead of the box frame. After 90 units, the 550 A was developed further in 1956. Depending on the customer’s wishes, a small windshield was mounted in front of the driver or a wide, low windshield in front of the entire cockpit. However, there was no soft top or full windscreen. This gave customers the choice between racing it or using it as a sports car in good weather. Since the car had a full registration, it was allowed to participate in public road traffic. In this way, Porsche financed the development costs retrospectively. In addition to the factory team, private teams and drivers from all over the world could also order a 550. These cars were visually distinguished from the earlier examples by different headlights and a modified rear end. In 1955, the order for body construction of the car, which was now only available as a Spyder, was shifted to Wendler in Reutlingen. Porsche commissioned both Spyders and a few Coupés there. The bodies of the first examples came from Karosseriewerke Weinsberg. A box frame welded together from tubes formed the flat base for the 550. To prevent spinning wheels in tight corners, a limited-slip differential from ZF was used. The clutch followed behind the engine and a fully synchronized four-speed gearbox behind the rear axle. Initially, 81 kW/110 hp and 121 Nm of torque were available. Ernst Fuhrmann developed the 1.5-liter light-alloy engine. 1.5-liter mid-engineĪs with the very first 356, Porsche engineers designed a mid-engine vehicle. In Zuffenhausen, an in-house design was created in 1953, which was given the design number 550. A total of seven of these one-offs were built, known today as the Glöckler-Porsches. The technicians used components from VW and Porsche, but moved the four-cylinder boxer engines to the center directly behind the driver. In his spare time, however, he took trips to race tracks from 1950 onwards and had his own designs built in his workshop for this purpose. He actually sold Volkswagen and Porsche cars in Frankfurt, Germany. In retrospect, Walter Glöckler is considered to have given the idea. The company from Zuffenhausen made its first racing appearances with the 356, but it quickly became clear that a thoroughbred race car would be more suitable. But this success story once began small and with little power. Whether it’s the 917, 936, 956, 962 or 919 Hybrid, they’ve all taken overall victories at Le Mans. At brisk highway speeds it is very easy to drive, docile, perfectly manageable, superbly responsive.Racing sports cars from the Porsche brand are known worldwide for their motorsport successes. When Sports Illustrated wrote about the Porsche 550 series at the time, writer Griff Borgeson called it “ fast and fiercely powerful, one of the most successful competition sports cars in history, and it has a personality no less complex than Dr Jekyll’s. It took first in class and sixth overall in the 1954 Mille Miglia, its first race, then came in third overall at that year’s Carrera PanAmericana. The race car competed in numerous European races, including events held at Germany’s famous Nürburgring and Hockenheim. Its body was fashioned after the 1948 Porsche 356/1 prototype designed by Ferry Porsche, but it was the vehicle’s speed and agility that made it the stuff of automotive legend. Credit: BonhamsĪrguably one of the most important Porsche models ever produced, the 550 Spyder was the marque’s first racing car, debuting in 1953. A rear shot of the 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder.
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