A Porsche 550A Spyder will be among the headline offerings at the 2018 Bonhams Scottsdale auction, scheduled for January 18th at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale during Arizona Auction Week.
The instantly recognizable Porsche Spyder is in a class all its own. The first Spyder, the 550, is most associated in popular culture with James Dean who, like other race car drivers, admired it for its beauty, speed and nimbleness. The 550’s successor, the 550A, sported the same design but was improved underneath. Powered by the original 1.5-liter, four-cam, flat-four engine, it enjoyed a space-frame chassis instead of the previous ladder-frame, and had trailing-arm suspension instead of swing axles, among other improvements. The enhanced weight reduction and superior stability allowed the 550A to punch far above its weight and compete successfully against the bigger Ferrari and Aston Martin race cars, earning it the nickname “The Giant Killer.”
This 550A offered at the 2018 Bonhams Scottsdale auction, chassis number 0145, stands out as a special car among the breed. It was a Porsche Works entrant, a veteran of four world championship races, what is to believed to be the only 550A to compete in a Grand Prix, and one of 40 created.
The competition history of chassis 0145 is illustrious with a 2nd in class and 5th overall placement at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the class winner at the Nürburgring 1000 KM, the class winner at the 12 Hours of Reims, the class winner at the Zandvoort NAV Race, and the class winner at the Dutch Grand Prix, to mention just some of the outings.
This historic Porsche 550A Spyder will be offered for sale at Bonhams’ seventh annual Scottsdale auction, to be held January 18, 2018 at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.
For further information, visit Bonhams.com.
[Source: Bonhams; photos: Pawel Litwinski]
