The Porsche 550 was the brand’s first production racing car, designed to be both street legal and track-ready, allowing drivers...
Porsche 550
The Porsche 550 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. Although with just 4 cylinders, the engine was really complicated and took a lot of time to build. Compared to the “regular” 1500 cc engine in the 356, the Fuhrmann 1500 didn’t have anything in common with it. The 4-cam Porsche engine developed twice the power compared to the single-cam unit based on the pre-war Volkswagen design (which was also a Porsche design). In all, 90 Porsche 550 cars were built, including 15 prototypes. The 1956 version of the Porsche 550 was known as the 550A. It had a lighter and more rigid spaceframe chassis, and gave Porsche its first overall win in a major sports car racing event, the 1956 Targa Florio. 40 units were made. See all our Porsche 550 Research.
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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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The Porsche 550 was Porsche’s first production racing car. The car was completely street legal, so it could be driven...
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Porsche 550A RS Spyder Pictures Appearing at the end of 1956, the 550A differed from its predecessor by use of...
Porsche 550A RS Spyder Specifications type Racing Car built at Germany predeccesor 1954 Porsche 550 RS Spyder succeccesor 1957 Porsche...
A session at Laguna Seca in a Porsche 550 Spyder...
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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 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...
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.
