A bit of history


1947 First Porsche - design number 356 laid out at Gmund, Austria. Fitted with high compression flat four cylinder 35bhp 1131 cc Volkswagen powerplant, reversed to give mid-engined layout, and Erwin Komenda designed skimpy 'Spyder' body. VW trailing arm/transverse torsion bar used at front, and similar unit at rear reversed making it a leading arm system to clear transmission.


1948 Porsche Spyder 356/01 competition roadster completed and tested by Ferry Porsche. Wins class at Innsbruck road race for Herbert Kaes. Space frame shelved as production plans centre on 356/02 coupes using VW platform chassis and running gear.

1950 Frankfurt VW dealer Walter Glockler builds 48bhp 1086cc Porsche powered competition Spyder around underslung tubular ladder frame and 356/01 style suspension. Wins German 1100cc sports car championship running VW badge on nose and forges close links with Porsche's new factory at Zuffenhausen.

1951 Second Glockler Spyder rebadged as Porsche, has roller bearing 85bhp 1488cc factory engine used in successful type 356 competition coupes. Supple leading arm rear suspension promotes wild handling.

1952 Third Glockler uses conventional floorpan, rear engine and trailing arms for easier handling. Two more mid engined Glocklers built for quirk happy customers. Work starts on four cam Porsche type (design number), 547 flat four cylinder 1498cc engine.

1953 Porsche finds cash to build own type 550 Spyders as it's coupes falter under pressure from Osca. New cars powered by 98bhp 1500 Super pushrod engines. Helm Glockler wins first race at Nurburgring. Hard tops fitted for better streamlining at Le Mans and the Carrera Panamericana, where cars win class. Revised 550 built for new 117bhp type 547 engine. Longer arms allow rear suspension to adopt trailing link pattern for better stability; while frame is swept up over transmission. Type 550/03 becomes first mid engined Porsche to have reasonable handling. Second car, 550/04, built with high rear deck for aerodynamic experiments. Prototype 550/1500RS production racer shown at Paris Salon in October.

1954 Revised 550 shown at Brussels Salon in January. It has Buckelwagen 'hunchback car' big fin bodywork to counter drag from larger road going windscreen. Chassis again underslung. Hans Herrmann sweeps under crossing barrier, narrowly misses train, and takes sixth overall in Mille Miglia, then wins class and third overall in Carrera Panamericana. As the 550/ 150ORS goes into production priced at the equivalent of around £70,000 today its designation becomes too much of a mouthful and Porsche adopts the name Spyder.

1955 Spyders win 1100cc and 1500cc class at Le Mans. Factory cars fitted with semispaceframe to improve rigidity, plus closer ratio five speed gearbox. Lighter and more rigid Porsche powered Coopers ('Poopers') outrun Spyders in US and Maserati 150S, EMWs prove embarrassing in Europe. Total production run 78, excluding works cars.

1956 Power raised to 130bhp and chassis revised as a full spaceframe along lines of 356/01 for the type 550A, nicknamed RS. Swing axle rear suspension revised in keeping with low pivot system used by Mercedes to counter extremes of camber change. Umberto Maglioli wins Targa Florio and annexes another Porsche model name. Type 550A production run believed to be 37. Works cars sometimes use larger bore 1587cc and 1679cc engines. Narrow track, short wheelbase, low drag, wishbone rear suspension type 645 version called Mickey Mouse (after its handling). Conveys works driver Richard von Frankenberg over banking at Avus and into life saving tree.

1957 Type 550A doubles up for new formula two against open wheel racers. Iron Curtain refugee Edgar Barth's works car wins class in German GP. Front suspension is revised, having transverse torsion bars in K shaped framework to promote negative camber in lower, sleeker car using type 645 nose. Mechanic's nickname of RSK sticks although the suspension reverts to near normal, the K shaped front frame disappears and Porsche calls it the type 718.

1958 Rear suspension again revised to have Mercedes style Watts linkage location (and Lotus type coil springs) to control geometry changes. Power of works engines for 1500cc class raised to 142bhp, necessitating complex oil cooling matrix using surface of nose panel. RSK converted to central seat configuration to win Reims formula two race.

1959 Production run of 37 Spyder Type 1500 RSK customer cars started, using 148bhp engines. Several buyers, including Jean Behra and Carel Godin de Beaufort, buy dual purpose sports or central seater RSKs. Goodbye to swing axles: works cars reach 162bhp, have lighter frame and wishbone rear suspension. Old RSK wins Targa for Barth as new one's suspension breaks on last lap. Formula two development roars ahead as 1.5litre F1 announced for 1961.

1960 New Appendix J sports car regulations dictate large full width screen which hinders small engined Porsches more than larger Ferraris. Porsche updates RSK to longer, smaller wheel, RS60 form, using 166 bhp formula two engine. For the first time, private owners can buy works specification cars. Alternative 1600cc engines gave 178 bhp. RS60s having 185bhp 1679cc engines narrowly beaten by Ferrari for manufacturers' championship after winning Targa.

1961 RS60 renamed RS61. Racing development concentrates on reluctant flat eight formula one engine, wishbone and coil suspension, plus new fangled disc brakes. Tough and reliable RS61 wins Targa again and special bodied Carrera Abarth version of production car takes GT events. Rakish Zagato designed GT nose then combined with Spyder body as basis of two works 718 coupes and one open W-RS using 1966cc 165bhp version of standard Carrera GT's, more torquey plain bearing engine. RS60 retires four miles from end of Targa while in the lead, W-RS takes second place, then fifth overall at Le Mans.

1962 W-RS fitted with new 210bhp 1982cc version of flat-eight engine and disc brakes. Crashed or placed in numerous endurance events, fails to outrun agile RS61s because of heavy engine.

1963 W-RS receives wishbone and coil front suspension to herald end of traditional VW system. Fitted with experimental glassfibre panels and 225bhp flat-eight. Type 718 version wins Targa; W-RS only seventh (stuck in first gear). Barth wins European Mountain Championship: 240bhp on tap.

1964 Much-raced W-RS called grossmutter(grandmother) by affectionate mechanics. Leads field in Targa until driveshaft fails. Barth wins mountain championship again, gives the last of the traditional Porsche Spyders a swansong at Prescott as courtesy to British Porsche fans.