1955 Porsche 550 RS Spyder

Everyone is probably familiar-with the Porsche RS Spyder, one of Porsche’s latest and most successful forays into the world-of racing. The RS Spyder marked Porsche’s return to racing after almost a decade of-absence. 

It made its debut in the Le-Mans Series in 2005, and its winning streak continued for a number of years, making it one of the-best racing cars today a mean feat considering how tough the competition is today. Therefore,-it’s not really surprising that the Porsche RS Spyder was named and somewhat modeled after-another iconic Porsche model: the Porsche 550. 

The Porsche 550 Spyder was-created after their very first car production, the Porsche 356, and some spyder prototypes they have-created with Walter Glocker starting in the early 1950s. There are very few Porsche 550 Spyder-built, although this doesn’t really mean the model wasn’t successful; unlike the 356,-the 550 was a racing car, meant to compete in the race tracks to gain a much needed winning-reputation beyond the commercial market. 

In any case, the Porsche 550-Spyder was built using the configurations created by the son of Porsche’s founder. But while-the 356 was a moderate commercial success, the engineers of the car found many shortcomings-regarding its design. For one, although it was an excellent commercial car, it was too heavy to be a-race car. Its body was made from steal and its structure was not meant for good handling. This made-the 356 an insufficient racing car, despite some of its great features. Hence, the company-reinvented the 356 to create something that would suit racing better.

One of the major changes in the-1954 Porsche 550 Spyder from its predecessor was its engine. The 1500S engine used for the 356 was-great, but not really enough to compete with racing powerhouses Ferrari and Jaguar, for instance.-This is why the Type 547 was created. The engine was more suitable for the LeMans race track, a 110-horsepower, 7800 rpm engine. 

The later incarnations of the-1954 Porsche 550 Spyder actually had a less powerful engine. In any case, the changes made to the-1954 Porsche 550 Spyder from its 356 predecessor were enough to claim victory at the LE Mans and the-Mille Miglia race tracks. The 1954 Porsche 550 Spyder was so successful that Porsche further-enhanced the design to create the Porsche 718, an even more successful competition car that claimed-victory in the Formula One race tracks. 

The 1954 Porsche 550-Spyder’s nickname, “Giant Killer,” had a different meaning when famous movie star-James Dean died in a car crash using the 1954 Porsche 550 Spyder. His 550 Spyder was customized (at-that point, he was vocal of his dreams of becoming a race car driver), and hence very iconic,-although the car itself is no longer in existence (there is, however, a replica). The car crash-didn’t really tarnish the 1954 Porsche 550 Spyder’s reputation; in fact, it only made it-more iconic and legendary.