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THE PORSCHE 550 SPYDER, A VERY BRIEF HISTORY:- The Porsche 550 Spyder was inspired by the original Porsche 356. From 1951, Porsche 356 prototypes were built and raced by Walter Glockler. His successes led to Porsche’s decision to build the first Porsche specifically developed for racing, the 550. The engine was based on the VW Beetle flat-4. It had shaft-driven, twin overhead camshafts, a roller-bearing crankshaft and dual ignition. Displacement was 1498 cc for the 1.5-liter class. Fed by a pair of Solex carbs, it produced 110 bhp at 6200 rpm. With an aluminum, monocoque body maximized for compactness, aerodynamics and lightness, the car weighed around 1300 lb. All the factory 550 Spyders were silver in color. The first three were hand-built prototypes. 550-03 raced as a roadster at the Nurburgring Eifel Race in May 1953, winning its first race. 550-05 was introduced to the general public at the 1953 Paris Motor Show. Over the following years, The Werks Porsche team evolved and raced the 550 with outstanding success and it was recognized wherever it appeared. With the 550, Porsche was the first manufacturer to organize, external, racing sponsorship. The Porsche 550 Spyder became an active participant on European and US championship circuits between 1953 and as late as 1965. Starting in over 370 races, with approximately 95 overall wins and an additional 75 class wins, the Spyder dominated and/or embarrassed more powerful cars from the prestigious racing stables. The cars were well represented at famous circuits around the world and soon became the racing car of choice for privateers, earning the reputation of ‘Giant Killer’. Only 90 cars were built with 78 being sold to the public for motor sport purposes. For such a limited number of builds, the 550 Spyder was always in a winning position, usually finishing in the top three in its class. The beauty of the 550 was that it could be driven to the track, raced and then driven home which showed its incredible flexibility. THE JAMES DEAN SAGA:- For the younger among us, James Dean was a movie idol of the fifties. He starred in the major, movie successes East of Eden, Rebel without a Cause and Giant with the film stars of the day including Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood, Julie Harris, Raymond Massey, Dennis Hopper and others. However, his passion was racing. After a succession of fast cars, motorbikes, street and track races, in 1955, he traded his Porsche Super Speedster for a brand new Porsche Spyder 550....

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Auto blog

Porsche unlocks secrets of its mid-engine 911

Fri, 23 May 2014

Porsche is beginning to realize that it's sitting on a goldmine of automotive history with its secret vault full of rare cars. Autoblog toured it a few months ago, and we were amazed at all of the curiosities hidden inside. Now, it's starting to let more folks in thanks to a new series of YouTube videos. The first covered the 965 prototype that shoved a water-cooled, Audi V8 into one of its cars. Next up, a mid-engine 911 that acted as the powertrain test mule for the Boxster.
The Porsche 911 is inextricably linked to its rear-engine layout. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. However, at the time Porsche was developing the Boxster, the company didn't want to lay all of its cards out of the table during testing. As opposed to using camouflage, it put a whole different car on top. The prototype looked just like any other 911 Targa of the day, but the biggest giveaway that something was amiss was the heavily tinted rear window. By obscuring it, inquisitive journalists couldn't peak at the new engine that replaced the backseat.
It might not look like anything too important on the outside, but this is a major piece of Porsche Boxster history underneath. Scroll down to watch the video about this fascinating prototype.

Proof the world revolves around the Porsche Cayman

Sat, 27 Apr 2013

Or at least the world revolves underneath the Porsche Cayman, in the latest video showing off Stuttgart's mid-engine coupe. Porsche put an Easter egg in the world that spins triple-time, a "famous relative" of the Cayman hidden somewhere on the marble planet, and gave a Porsche Martini bag to one of the first 50 people who could point it out.
With more than 300 views there's no chance you'll win the bag, but you can still go on the treasure hunt in the video below.

Porsche 960 could come with quad-turbo flat-eight engine

Thu, 24 Jan 2013

Getting a bead on the target that is the so-called Porsche 960 is not easy, as the target keeps moving. First labeled the 960, then the 961, and now back to being called the 960, it is Porsche's take on a supercar specifically aimed at Ferrari - the latest report in Automobile says that Porsche's internal moniker for it is "FeFi," which stands for "Ferrari Fighter." Because it is expected to cost as much as the top-tier V12 Ferrari, Porsche wants the engine solution to justify the price tag. That means, according to author Georg Kacher, a 3.9-liter, quad-turbo flat-eight engine with 650 horsepower.
Last summer, the engine was mooted to be a twin-turbo flat six. A few months later, the rumor was that it would use the 4.6-liter V8 from the 918 and have about 570 horsepower. This new mid-engine configuration would be quite the leap, giving the 960 more power than the 918 Spyder (pictured) and 911 GT2 RS, and utilize other tech features like four adjustable camshafts and "a complex multistage intake manifold." In this scenario, power would be run through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive.
Build materials are still slated to be a hodgepodge of materials including aluminum, steel, carbon fiber, titanium and magnesium. The boosted flat-eight, all-wheel drive and a 3,000-pound weight could get the 960 from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 2.5 seconds. Since it is looking squarely at Ferrari, the idea that the 960 will be a "four-door coupe" can probably be put to rest. For now.

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