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The
1998 debut and smashing success of the Porsche Boxster has
drawn recent attention to its fore-father, the 550 RS
Spyder. The 550 has found an immortal lore
worldwide. It was the American auto importer Johnny
Von Neuman who had an integral role in the commercial
success of the Spyder. Credited with the moniker
"Spyder", Johnny helped orchestrate James Dean's
purchase of this "Little Bastard" for $25,000
DM.
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The 550's racing
success has been a major, if not the major, contributing
factor to Porsche's commercial success. The 90
car run had swept the global competition in its class with a
mere 100 horsepower. From the LeMans in 1953 to 1955, the
Porsche Spyder was a force to be felt on the track. In
1956 an "improved" 550A Coupe won its class,
placing 5th overall.
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In the 1955
LeMans, the Porsche 550 gave a win, place, show performance
in the 1.5 liter and a 1st - 2nd in the 1.1 liter
classes. Beyond a 4th place overall finish, the Spyder
was awarded The Index of Performance for the car with
best combined speed and economy in the entire race
field. |
  The
type 547 engine (shown on right) with its twin cam, twin plug and
dual distributors terrorized the larger displacements as well
as its own class. The 1954 LeMans proved difficult due
to piston failure. The sustained high speeds and
temperatures actually prompted the factory to develop a special
dynamometer to test the engines. It was capable of
imposing full loads for 2 minute intervals at up to 8400 rpms....for
18 uninterrupted hours. The engineers called it the
LeMans dynamometer.
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