![]() Up until that point car designers were mainly interested in “cheating the wind” by creating very slippery shapes. Although he was not training to be an aerodynamicist per se, he recognized that the air flowing around a racing car was not just a bad thing and could be harnessed. By 1955, he was an engineering student with a particular interest in motor racing. Michael May was born in Stuttgart in 1934 and later moved to Switzerland. It was at this point that cousins Michael and Pierre May entered the already storied life of this Porsche 550 RS Spyder. Von Frankenberg and/or Ringgenberg subsequently raced the car at select events with the former winning at Hockenhem and the latter retiring from the 24 Hours of Le Mans where Hans-Jörg Gilomen joined the car’s owner as co-driver.Īhead of the 1956, Ringenberg sold the car to his compatriot Hans Gerber. An accident during the event ended the charge early. It was once again driven there over the road. Next up for 550-0031 was a rally in the south of France. The car is even named complete with chassis number in Karl Ludvigsen’s Porsche tome Excellence was Expected. Not surprising, with a journalist actively involved, the successful record attempt was well documented. The fastest of these records was set with a mesmerizing average speed of 212 km/h. 550 spyder drivers#Once at the track, the two drivers set no fewer than six world records in the brand-new 550 RS Spyder. The 550 was driven over the road from Stuttgart to the track near Paris. Von Frankenberg was no stranger to the 550, as he had shared the driving duties of the coupe that won its class at Le Mans in 1953. 550 spyder series#The car was finished in silver with red flashes over the rear fender flares.Ī week after the car was completed, Ringgenberg ran the car with journalist Richard von Frankenberg for a series of record runs at Montlhéry. In this case, it was Walter Ringgenberg, a Swiss hotelier and personal friend of Ferry Porsche’s. Completed early in March of 1955, chassis 550-0031 was one of these cars destined for a customer. Between 19, Porsche produced around one hundred examples, a vast majority of which went to private, and, crucially, paying customers. Porsche successfully campaigned the 550s all over the world, which created a huge demand for the nimble sports racers. A third coupe was built, but all subsequent 550s were fitted with would be known as the RS Spyder bodywork. The two cars finished first and second in class at Le Mans, which was a clear indication of what was to come. The same design was also fitted to the second chassis. For Le Mans, the car was re-bodied as a coupe. He duly won the race for 1500-cc cars despite the dreadful weather causing problems with his Solex carburetors. Although very much a works car, the first 550 was entered and driven by Walter Glöckler’s cousin Helmut. Following a victory late in 1953 at the Carrera Panamericana road race, the engine received the Carrera nickname.įitted with a straightforward Spyder body, a single 550 debuted during the sixteenth Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring. Breathing through a pair of Solex carburettors, the new 1498-cc engine was good for 110 hp a 30 hp increase over the similarly sized 356-based competition engines. Designed by Ernst Fuhrmann, the new Typ 547 engine had twin overhead camshafts that were driven from the build-up Hirth crankshaft by vertical shafts and bevel gears. Torsion bar springs were fitted on all four corners.Īlthough the first 550s raced featured a Typ 356 derived push-rod engine, the purpose-built racer was officially launched at the 1953 Paris Auto Salon with an all-new version of the air-cooled flat-four. The suspension also followed familiar lines with front parallel arms and swing axles at the rear. Unlike the mid-engined Glöckler Porsches, which used a bespoke tubular chassis, the Porsche engineers did opt to use a steel platform chassis, which was derived from the production cars. It was this feature that Porsche carried over when creating the Typ 550 racing car. This was an obvious advantage as it improved the weight balance of the car considerably. Some of these Glöckler specials had the Porsche engine mounted ahead instead of behind the rear axle as was the case on the 356s. Among the exceptions were the privately built racers created by Walter Glöckler and Hermann Ramelow, which used Porsche components to a varying degree. The German company and its customers had successfully raced Porsches before the 550’s introduction, but these were based on the 356 production car. Introduced in 1953, the Typ 550 was the first purpose-built Porsche racing car. The car entered and raced by Pierre May and his Swiss cousin Michael was the thirty-first Porsche 550 RS Spyder built, completed early in 1955. ![]()
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