stuny Posted June 11, 2012 Share #1 Posted June 11, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Porsche's first race-only production car was the 550 Spyder, produced from late 1954 and through 1955, eventually making between 70 and 80 copies. Their flat 6 had DOHC on each cylinder bank, and due to the car's light weight, reliability and handling, they outraced everything in their own class, as well as many cars with much larger engines. It's also the same model in which James Dean died. Porsche followed this model with revisions and upgrades in the 550A and the various RSK models. A real beauty. This one is owned by a North Carolinian who lent it to Porsche for an eight-city promotional tour for the 2013 Boxter. Along with the silver 550 was a silver 2013 Boxter and a 2005 Carrera GT shown in Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal. A little gem that I'd love to drive. [ATTACH]319904[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]319905[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]319906[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]319907[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]319908[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]319909[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]319910[/ATTACH] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 Hi stuny, Take a look here 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder (x7). I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
a.j.z Posted June 11, 2012 Share #2 Posted June 11, 2012 Very nice! Thanks for sharing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share #3 Posted June 12, 2012 Andreas - Thank you. Three separate people (one of them being our own Rona|d) have told me of good quality replicars of the 550. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauledell Posted June 12, 2012 Share #4 Posted June 12, 2012 Stuart, Excellent lighting, tones and sharpness. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmyjoe Posted June 12, 2012 Share #5 Posted June 12, 2012 OMG Stuart, that is my favorite car on the planet. I've been reading about them for decades but have never seen a real one (seen many Beck replicas and others). Hand formed aluminum body, that incredible engine, that took a Porsche factory mechanic 32 hours labor just to set the valve timing. One of the reasons there was a passenger with James Dean when he crashed is that his 550 Spyder was brand new and Porsche had one of their factory guys go with him to the race that weekend to tune the car. An absolutely fascinating piece of beautiful machinery. Thanks so much for sharing these beautiful pictures of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmyjoe Posted June 12, 2012 Share #6 Posted June 12, 2012 Just did a google search to see if the tour was going to come anywhere around Chicago, and found this YouTube video. Can you be seen in any of it Stuart? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blindjock Posted June 12, 2012 Share #7 Posted June 12, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) tiny detail.... It has a flat 4 engine (not a six cylinder). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share #8 Posted June 13, 2012 Paul - Thank you. Bruce - Thank you for the correction. When the Porsche lady at the exhibit told me it was the six I should have trusted my "gut" on it. In '62 the wonderful, goreous 904 had a 4-cylinder, and it was unlikely that a six would materialize (especially as a 1500) eight years earlier but not be seen in the 904. Tim - Thank you. If you send your email address via PM I'll email you the files (these seven plus two or three more). Porsche was not permitted to have any fuel in the cars, and everything that came into the building was checked by bomb-sniffing dogs - Grand Central has to be among the top targets for terrorism in the US. They removed the doors and frames at the southern-most entrance to Grand Central on the Lexington Avenue (east side) side of the building. They laid out the wooden planks, pushed the cars, picked up the planks and moved them in front of the cars, pushed again, and so on. It was a very long night for the display people and the security people. Over night (the cars were put in place very early Monday morning) private security people and NYPD protected the valuable, small collection. I'll look at the You Tube video again tonight on a larger monitor, though I very much doubt I'll find myself in spite of visiting twice for quite some time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
George James Posted June 23, 2012 Share #9 Posted June 23, 2012 Stuart, Excellent set of images, beautiful car ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Holy Moly Posted June 23, 2012 Share #10 Posted June 23, 2012 Stuart, thanks for your great pics! The engine is a flat 4 with 4 valve heads, double ignition and a roller bearing crankshaft. The camshafts are driven by two "Koenigswellen? The story around the wrecked car continued: Out of the internet and translated by google: "Around the Spyder wreck happened mysterious things. The car dealer George Barris bought four days after the accident the wreck for $ 2,500. A certain Dr. William Eschrich bought the engine and transmission of Barris. Eschrich Spyder built the engine in his Porsche, the gear he passed to his friend Dr. McHenry. Both were amateur racers and they were not superstitious. McHenry was killed in the first race and Eschrich was seriously injured in a crash. Another Porsche driver had bought the Spyder's rear tire of the Spyder, he was killed in a race. As on 26 October 1955 "For they know not what they do" was rolled out in the cinemas, George Barris has toured with the California Spyder wreck by the universities. The students stood in line in front of the aluminum clusters, which became a James Dean-relic. In March 1959, broke into a garage in Fresno, who was lying in the wreckage of a fire. As the wreck later on a truck again went on exhibition tour, the truck was involved in a traffic accident, the driver died. 1960 George Barris had enough. He grabbed the wreck sealed in a container and sent it to Florida, watched by detectives, according to Los Angeles. When they broke the seal intact in Los Angeles, the container was empty. Even Rolf tyrant is a single life drama. When he stabs his wife in affect, he is in jail for years. Out on bond, he is an alcoholic. He lives alone and withdrawn in Hohenlohe. On 20 July 1981, he died at Schwäbisch Hall, as he crashes with his Honda car against a house wall. He was 78 years old." So better not to come too close to the car where ever it may be...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share #11 Posted June 24, 2012 George - Thank you. HM - Thank you. That narrative would scare-off many people. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
echorec Posted June 28, 2012 Share #12 Posted June 28, 2012 Beautiful car and beautiful pictures! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted June 30, 2012 Author Share #13 Posted June 30, 2012 Gunnar - Thank you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Benqui Posted July 18, 2012 Share #14 Posted July 18, 2012 Stuart, thanks for showing a beautiful series of a beautiful car! best regards Marc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Allsopp Posted July 18, 2012 Share #15 Posted July 18, 2012 Stuart, the first especially is a superb photo of an icon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share #16 Posted July 19, 2012 Marc & bill - Thank you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted August 9, 2012 Author Share #17 Posted August 9, 2012 A '55 550 sold at this year's Gooding & Co at Amelia Island auction for $3,685,000. It was in "retored/#1" condition, had a rebuilt replacement engine (installed), plus the original engine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_Thompson Posted August 10, 2012 Share #18 Posted August 10, 2012 In 1969, a California Sports Car Club corner worker / flagman bought a VW engined RSK (no Fuhrmann four-cam engine) for two thousand dollars. I wonder how long he kept it and if he's kicking himself today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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