Porsche 550 Classic Cars for Sale
The Porsche 550 was developed and constructed by premium luxury car manufacturer Porsche from 1953 until 1956. The Porsche 550 is a two-door coupé that was built in Stuttgart Germany and marketed as a super-a fast sports car. In 1955, the list price to buy a Porsche 550 was around US$6,800.00. The price put the 550 out of reach for the average man in the street, and it was purchased mainly by wealthy celebrities such as James Dean. The top speed was 140 mph.
The history of the Porsche 550 and 550 Spyder
The Porsche 550 Coupé and the 550 Spyder were the two variant of the model. Porsche developed the 550 to be used for racing. The 550 Spyder was revealed at the motor show in Paris in 1953. The original Porsche 550 Cars came with a hardtop that could be removed.
The first ever 550 to be raced, won at the famous and prestigious Nurburgring in 1953. Several years of race success was achieved by the Werks Porsche racing team, and the 550 Spyder was involved in competitions in both the US and European Championships from 1953 to 1965. In this period, the Porsche 550 Spyder started more than 370 races and achieved 95 overall wins and 75 in its class. The unique qualities of the 550 Spyder meant that it was able to dominate completely vehicles that were technically more powerful.
On many circuits all over the world, the 550 Spyder was raced by 'private' drivers, and was nicknamed the 'Giant Killer'. Internationally renowned circuits that saw the 550 compete included Le Mans, Nürburgring, Palm Springs and Lime Rock. Even though not many had been built, the 550 Spyder was never far from the pole position. The fantastic and unique thing about the Porsche 550 was that after finishing a race, it could be driven home on public roads. This flexibility as both a race car and ordinary sports car gave it an irresistible appeal to privateers, who often just crudely painted a race number on the side, by hand. From 1957, the 718 took over from the 550 and had, even more, success on the racing circuit.
The most famous Porsche 550
Ironically, it was a Porsche 550 that was written off in a fatal crash that is now the most famous of these models. James Dean was involved in a road traffic accident while driving his new Porsche 550 Spyder in 1955. His injuries proved to be fatal. He was only 30 at the time of his death, and the incident cut short a promising film career but made him and the 550 Spyder, iconic legends.