Porsche 550 RS Spyders at LeMans 1955
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- Опубліковано 13 жов 2024
- The 550 RS Spyder, introduced at the Paris Auto Show in late 1953, was their first model designed specifically for racing. The lightweight aluminum body and powerful 1500cc, four cam power plant earned them a reputation as 'giant killers' on the track.
It debuted at LeMans in 1953 and was back in force in 1955. The 1955 LeMans saw the Spyder awarded with The Index of Performance for the car with best combined speed and economy in the entire race field. With a mix of both Werks and privateer spyders, Porsche proved to be a threat to the Italian marques with a result of 4th, 5th and 6th positions overall and first in class against a field of more powerful cars.
The 1955 race was also marred with tragedy in which Pierre Levegh's Mercedes crashed into a crowd of spectators, killing more than 80 people. We see the smoking wreckage in the background as shot from the Porsche pits.
The incident led to the widespread introduction of safety measures to protect both drivers and spectators, not only at the circuit but tracks worldwide.
The Porsche Spyder also became famous as the car actor James Dean was driving when he collided with a station wagon and died. He was gaining a reputation as an amateur racer as well as an actor. He'd had Hollywood car customizer Dean Jeffires paint, "Little Bastard' on his car.
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Ref: S015
Thanks for chiming in. Anyone have thoughts on the Goodwood theory? Maybe I should send a link to my friends who are going to Goodwood next month. I need to start uploading more too. Much more to come. Great, never before seen Porsche historical footage.
Thanks for clearing up the mystery. Much appreciated.
Just hit on Dwight's short movie... and greatly impressed. Such clever styling and the roar of that engine, which doesn't sound at all like any VW I've ever encountered, [2.2 litres or not], is music! Thanks for sharing.
The title of this video should be, when gentlemen raced!
Incredible footage, thanks for sharing.
it's amazing the beautiful styling never caught on to other car manufacturers. had they enlarged the car with the same styling, it would pass for styling 60 years into the future, i.e. NOW ! What amazing visionaries european race car stylists were then.
Thanks for the correction.
Sir Stirling sure was young once.
Could the british circuit be: Goodwood, 1955. Third Nine-Hour International Sports Car Race. Stirling Moss in the Porsche 550 Spyder he shared with Hushke von Hanstein. In his final stint, with just two hours to go, Moss was unable to avoid Tony Crook's spinning Cooper-Bristol at Woodcote, the resulting damage forcing retirement and the loss of a likely class win. Moss had No:34 on his Porsche.
LeMans disaster at the end. Odd to see Mike Hawthorn all smiles considering the events that took place.
The kombi in the beginning of the clip looks as though it might have copped some performance enhancement.
It´s not Le Mans, but the Nurburgring. In the red Spyder Richard von Frankenberg. Beautiful pics from the historic pit, that still exist today. Great movie, thxs.
Oldtimer-Youngtimer-App.com
Pathe film and photographs to confirm theory but cannot post links.
16mm colour film could use a telecine restoration.
16mm footage offers alternate coverage. Pathe missed the plot.
this is the Nurburgring at the beginning.Then Goodwood? Yes and Le Mans last