Porsche 550

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"Porsche Spyder" redirects here. For the RS Spyder, see Porsche RS Spyder.
Porsche 550
Overview
Manufacturer Porsche
Production 1953-1956
Assembly Stuttgart, Germany
Body and chassis
Class Sports car
Body style 2-door coupe
2-door spyder
Layout MR layout

The Porsche 550 was a sports car produced by Porsche from 1953-1956.

History

Interior of a 1955 Porsche 550 RS from the Ralph Lauren car collection.
Porsche 550 RS

Inspired by the Porsche 356 which was created by Ferry Porsche, and some spyder prototypes built and raced by Walter Glöckler starting in 1951, the factory decided to build a car designed for use in auto racing.[1] The model Porsche 550 Spyder was introduced at the 1953 Paris Auto Show.[2] The 550 was very low to the ground, in order to be efficient for racing. In fact, former German Formula One racer Hans Herrmann drove it under closed railroad crossing gates during the 1954 Mille Miglia.

Racing history

The 550 / 1500RS or Spyder became known as the "Giant Killer". The later 1956 evolution version of the model, the 550A, which had a lighter and more rigid spaceframe chassis, gave Porsche its first overall win in a major sports car racing event, the 1956 Targa Florio.

Its successor from 1957 onwards, the Porsche 718, commonly known as the RSK was even more successful. The Spyder variations continued through the early 1960s, the RS 60 and RS 61. A descendant of the Porsche 550 is generally considered to be the Porsche Boxster S 550 Spyder; the Spyder name was effectively resurrected with the RS Spyder Le Mans Prototype.

James Dean's "Little Bastard"

Perhaps the most famous of the first 90 Porsche 550's built was James Dean's "Little Bastard" numbered 130 (VIN 550-0055) which Dean fatally crashed into Donald Turnupseed's 1950 Ford Custom at the CA Rt. 46/41 Cholame Junction on September 30, 1955.[3]

As Dean was finishing up Giant’s filming in September, 1955, he suddenly traded in his 356 Porsche Super Speedster at Competition Motors for a new 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder on September 21st and immediately entered the upcoming Salinas Road Race event scheduled for October 1 and 2.[4]

According to Lee Raskin, Porsche historian, and author of James Dean At Speed, Dean asked custom car painter and pin striper Dean Jeffries to paint Little Bastard on the car:

"Dean Jeffries, who had a paint shop next to Barris did the customizing work which consisted of: painting '130' in black non-permanent paint on the front hood, doors and rear deck lid. He also painted "Little Bastard" in script across the rear cowling. The red leather bucket seats and red tail stripes were original. The tail stripes were painted by the Stuttgart factory, which was customary on the Spyders for long distance endurance racing identification."[5]

Purportedly, James Dean had been given the nickname "Little Bastard" by Bill Hickman, a Warner Bros. stunt driver who became friendly with Dean. Previous references to Hickman say he was Dean's dialogue coach on Giant. Bob Hinkle, a Texan, was actually Dean's Giant dialogue coach. Hickman was part of Dean's group driving to the Salinas Road Races on September 30, 1955. Hickman says he called Dean, "little bastard." And Dean called Hickman, "big bastard." Another version of the "Little Bastard" origin has been corroborated by two of Dean's close friends, Lew Bracker, and photographer, Phil Stern. They believe Jack Warner of Warner Bros. had once referred to Dean as a little bastard after Dean refused to vacate his temporary East of Eden trailer on the studio's lot. And Dean wanted to get 'even' with Warner by naming his race car, "Little Bastard" and to show Warner that despite his sports car racing ban during all filming, Dean was going to be racing the "Little Bastard" in between making movies for Warner Bros.[6]

Replicas

Technic 550 Spyder, fibreglass panels on custom chassis. Powered by VW, Porsche or Alfa Romeo flat-4 engine.

The 550 is among the most frequently reproduced classic automobiles. [citation needed]

Several companies have sprung up in the last 25 years who offer kit and turn-key cars, including;

  • Boulder Speedster
  • HJRkitscars from Argentina
  • Chuck Beck Motorsports
  • Chamonix do Brasil
  • Auto Classics
  • Holmes Motor Company
  • Le Mans 550 Spyder
  • Vintage Spyders.

There are a few companies that build near-exact replicas from the ground up fabricating 550 turnkey cars to the buyers exact specifications;

  • Alloycars, which specializes in exact aluminum recreations from blueprints.

References

  1. ↑ Leffingwell, Randy (2002). Porsche legends. Osceola, WI: MBI Pub. Co. p. 35. ISBN 0-7603-1364-4. 
  2. ↑ "Porsche History - Milestones". Retrieved 2009-05-05. 
  3. ↑ Porsche Panorama, Porsche Club of America,Inc; Little Bastard: Search for James Dean's Spyder, July, 1984, Lee Raskin, pp. 12-16, 19-20. ISSN 0147-3565.
  4. ↑ Raskin, Lee (2005). James Dean: At speed. Phoenix, Ariz.: David Bull. pp. 101–102. ISBN 978-1-893618-49-7. 
  5. ↑ ""Little Bastard": The Silver Spyder Porsche/Dean Mystery Revisited". The Selvedge Yard. 2009-12-27. Retrieved 2013-02-05. 
  6. ↑ Raskin, p. 106.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Porsche 550 Spyder.
Cars that competed in the 1957 Formula One season (ex. Indianapolis 500)
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