1958 Porsche 550A Spyder

heroldius (65)in #cars • 6 years ago (edited)

During the last weekend of August in Monterey (California), Mecum will auction this splendid 1958 Porsche 550A Spyder for an estimate price of $US 5,000,000. Only 39 examples of this wonder were produced... Piece of racing history.

History of the Porsche 550A Spyder

The Porsche 550 was produced between 1953 and 1956 as the Porsche's first purpose-built race car. And for a first, this is a huge success with a victory at Le Mans in 1955 and first place overall in 1956 at Targa Florio, open road endurance race in Sicily (Italy). It was nicknamed the Giant-Killer because it defeated all the other race cars of higher class designation.

In 1956, the 550 was replaced by the 550A, an upgrade version with 5 speed transmission, 15 inch wheels for better stability and a tubular space frame for more structural rigidity. This model 550A-0141 was delivered during the 1958 season to the driver Ernst Vogel, virtuoso composer and professional concert pianist :

May 15, 1958 Flugplatz Wien Aspern, Austria 2nd overall
June 15, 1958 GP Circuit d’Opatija, Yugoslavia 1st overall
August 15, 1958 Gaisberg Hill Climb, Austria 8th overall
August 17, 1958 Flugplatz Zeltweg, Austria 1st in class
October 5, 1958 Innsbruck Flugplatz, Austria 1st in class

A silver arrow ! :-)

Technical specification

With it** 1750cc DOHC Flat 4 Carrera engine** and 5-speed manual transmission, the Porsche 550A Spyder has reached 218 kmh on the motorway section near Salzburg the November 12, 1958 with Vogel as a driver.

This example was restored by the Kimmins brothers (Lake Havasu, Arizona) with this stunning polished bare aluminum bodycoach and the original riveted 15 inch wheels. Pure beauty...