After providing us with ample, but still not nearly enough time to check out all the machinery in the museum (as if there would ever
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| Porsche parked a classically silver painted Cayman S beside an evenmore classic 550 Coupe. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
be enough time for a place like this), all the slow pokes that got lost on the way there (which is usually me but fortunately this time I was driving with someone from the company) had finally shown up and we went downstairs, where a classically silver painted Cayman S was parked beside an even more classic 550 Coupe.
A what? Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if you've never heard of such a thing, being that the lovely 550 Spyder normally gets all the attention, but I suppose its anonymity does makes sense as only two were ever made and until recently both were unaccounted for. The coupe was created alongside the Spyder, and therefore both are considered to be Porsche's first dedicated racing cars - the Spyder, however, was the first of the two to go racing, winning at the Eiffel Races at the Nurburgring at the hands of Helm Glöckler - in its inaugural run no less. The coupe, however, holds an even greater honour in taking Le Mans the same year - 1953. But this is
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| The 550 coupe is one of the most important Porsche race cars in existence. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
where it gets interesting, being that the roadster that won on the Nurburgring is actually the same car that swept up the 1101-1500 cc class at Le Mans, only it was now fitted with a hardtop in order to maximize aerodynamics (and no doubt keep the driver dry being that it was horribly wet at the previous Nurburgring event). In typically reliable Porsche fashion, both cars finished the 24 hour endurance race back to back, in 15th and 16th place overall. This car, chassis 550-01, having recently been restored by Cavaglieri Restorations to the original's final 1953 Carrera Panamericana specification, complete with the bright sponsor decals, is currently part of the Miles Collier Collection. It has the dubious honour of being both the first 550 Spyder and the second 550 coupe, and having taken the checkered flag at both of its initial outings, making it one of, if not the most important Porsche race car in existence, is absolutely priceless.
