AUTO WORLD BIKERS

 The Porsche 550 was a sports car produced by Porsche from 1953-1956. Inspired by the Porsche 356 which was created by Ferry Porsche, and some spyder prototypes built and raced by Walter Glöckler starting in 1951, the factory decided to build a car designed for use in auto racing. The model Porsche 550 Spyder was introduced at the 1953 Paris Auto Show. The Porsche 550 was very low to the ground, in order to be efficient for racing. In fact, former German Formula One racer Hans Herrmann drove it under closed railroad crossing gates during the 1954 Mille Miglia.


 The Porsche 550 / 1500RS or Spyder became known as the "Giant Killer". The later 1956 evolution version of the model, the 550A, which had a lighter and more rigid spaceframe chassis, gave Porsche its first overall win in a major sports car racing event, the 1956 Targa Florio.


 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.


 The Porsche 550 "Little Bastard", serial number 550-0055 is best known for being the car in which James Dean was killed on September 30, 1955.


Over 50 years later Chamonix have reengineered and upgraded the 550 Spyder for Australia. It holds onto classic styling and design with modern running gear and safety features providing the optimal track car whilst still comfortable for road driving.

The 550 Spyder weighs in at a low 720kg and is powered by a Subaru sourced 2.4 Litre mid-mounted four cylinder engine capable of producing 121kW at 5600rpm and 226Nm of torque at 4400rpm. Considering the mere weight of this modern classic its no wonder its capable of an acceleration time of 5.3 seconds from 0 - 100 Km/h. And for those buyers that purchase the car for track days, they will experience a top speed of 220Km/h.


 Classic styling remains with 15 inch alloy wheels, red leather interior trim, thin three-spoke steering wheel, curved windscreen, three dial instrument cluster and many more fine touches to further enhance the driving experience.