1955 Porsche 550/4 RS 1500 Spyder #37
Pilots: H. Polensky, R. von Frankenberg
Team: Porsche KG
Race: 4th overall (1st in S 1.5 class) at Le Mans in 1955
Spark - S9710 (resin)
Published 07/11/25
In the 1951 Le Mans race, Porsche made history with their first class win. However, it was obvious that modified production cars were not the best way to win races. Consequently, right after the race they started the development of a purpose-built race car. That car was the Porsche 550, and by 1953 the first units came out of the Zuffenhausen plant. Though designed and produced for the tracks, the 550 was road legal, a detail that appealed to privateers. And even more importantly, the 550 was an awesome racing machine. Powering the 550 was the Typ 547 engine, designed by Ernst Fuhrmann. A 1498 cm³ boxer-4, it delivered 82 kW (110 hp). Not much, yet enough for the 550 kg car. In essence, the 550 was a brilliant project, achieving victories all over. At Le Mans, for instance, the 550 won in 1953 and 1954 (in two different classes!).
Despite the 550’s undeniable success, in 1954 Porsche began further improving the car. Nothing radical, just small tweaks to the engine, body and chassis that would make it better overall. With the experience gained on tracks, for 1954 Porsche totally abandoned the coupe version, producing only spyders from then on. With that, Porsche called the “new” 1954 model 550/4 RS Spyder 1500. Though the production of the first 550 RS began in September, the car was only delivered in January of 1955. That happened because Porsche could not meet production demands, and also because development was occurring during production. With the new car ready, Porsche arrived at Teloché in Le Mans with two factory cars. Adding to that, there were another three privateers, with a total of five 550/4 RS Spyder in the race. And once again the 550 dominated – just one of the privateers DNF.
The two factory cars were 550/4 RS #37 and #62. Car #37 came in first place in the S 1.5 class, while #64 came in third, with a privateer in-between. In 1956 and 1957 the 550 won again (by then 550A/4 RS). That equals to five class wins in five consecutive years. No wonder the 550 received the nickname Giant Killer. This 500/4 RS Spyder #37 is the fifth 550 in the W-143 Garage. I know it’s starting to sound as “more of the same”, yet without a doubt this is a hugely important car for Porsche (and Le Mans). Apart from the Porsche 956, I’m hard-pressed to cite another car as successful at La Sarthe.
A monster of a car on the racetrack, however I think I have enough 550s now 😁.