Vue de trois quarts de face d'une Porsche 550 qui a participé aux 24 heures de la course du Mans entre 1953 et 55, marquant un atout de victoires dans sa catégorie.
5159 x 3496 px | 43,7 x 29,6 cm | 17,2 x 11,7 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
8 septembre 2024
Lieu:
Museum of the 24hrs of Le Mans, Circuit de la Sarthe at Le Mans
Informations supplémentaires:
Cette image peut avoir des imperfections car il s’agit d’une image historique ou de reportage.
he Porsche 550 is a racing sports car produced by Porsche from 1953 until 1956. In that time only 90 Porsche 550s were produced, and they quickly established dominance in the 1.1- and 1.5- liter classes. The Porsche 550 is a mid-engine car with an air-cooled four-cylinder engine, following the precedent of the 1948 Porsche 356/1 prototype designed by Ferry Porsche. The mid-engine racing design was further developed with Porsche's 718 model; its advantages led to it becoming the dominant design for top-level racing cars by the mid-1960s. The Porsche 550 has a solid racing history; it won the Nürburgring Eifel Race in May 1953, the first race it entered. The 550 Spyder usually finished in the top three in its class. Each Spyder was designed and customized to be raced. A 1958 Porsche 550A Spyder sold at auction in 2018 by Bonhams for $5, 170, 000 (£4, 115, 763); it was the highest price for a 550 at auction.The first three hand-built prototypes came in a coupé with a removable hardtop. The first (550-03) raced as a roadster at the Nurburgring Eifel Race in May 1953 winning its first race. Later that year the 550 took class wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Carrera Panamericana; the Carrera Panamericana win was commemorated with the Carrera branding for later Porsches with performance options. From 1953 to 1957, the Porsche works team evolved and raced the 550 with outstanding success and was recognized wherever it appeared. The silver Werke cars were painted with spears of different colors on the rear fenders to aid recognition from the pits. Hans Herrmann’s particularly famous ‘red-tail’ car No 41 went from victory to victory. For such a limited number of 90 prototype and customer builds, the 550 Spyder was always in a winning position, usually finishing in the top three results in its class.
