Type 356 became a success: an engineer’s cult car in America the gentry’s quirky toy in Europe. Racing entered the picture almost immediately. Some of the lightweight aluminium coupes built in Gmund were adapted for racing as early as 1951. Prototype Type 550s followed in 1953 and by 1954, with the Fuhrman four-cam Type 547 motors in them. The Spyders were developed steadily through 1962 when the Carrera Abarth was born.
Its successor from 1957 onwards, the Porsche 718, was even more successful, scoring points in Formula One as late as 1963. A descendant of the Porsche 550 is generally considered to be the Porsche Boxster S 550 Spyder; the Spyder name was effectively resurrected with the RS Spyder Le Mans Prototype.
Porsche 550 raced in Carrera Panamericana races, and won several times in it’s class and overall scoring. The German marque knew it had finally earned its reputation. A little more than a year later, they announced the 356A—the Carrera.
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