With Pebble Beach now complete, the world’s automotive auctioneers are looking towards their next big events. For Bonhams, that’ll be at the Goodwood Revival in just a couple of weeks, for which it has consigned this delectible 1956 Porsche 550 RS Spyder.
One of Porsche’s most sought-after models, the 550 RS was the company’s first real racing car. Only 90 examples were made, each with lightweight aluminum bodywork, a tiny 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine… and not much else. It was simplicity itself, and remains a timeless classic – made only more famous by James Dean who died behind the wheel of his.
Its small engine never prevent the little Porsche from keeping pace with more powerful competitors on the track. One 550, for example, driven by Hans Hermann, finished third in the Carrera Pan Americana – which as Road & Track pointed out at the time, meant that “There were 75 cars with bigger engines in that race, and Herrmann beat 73 of them.”
This particular example bears chassis number 550 0090 and is left in highly original condition. In fact it won the FIVA award for originality at Pebble Beach back in 2010. Little wonder, then, that Bonhams expects it will fetch between £4,700,000 and £6,200,000 – as much as $8.2 million at current exchange rates – when the gavel drops on September 10.
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