1955 Porsche 550 Spyder
- Engine
- 1.5L air-cooled flat-four DOHC (Type 547 four-cam), dual Weber downdraft carburettors, 110 bhp
- Colour
- Silver with light blue accent darts
Porsche 550 Spyder chassis 550-0068, built in September 1955, was displayed on Porsche's stand at the Frankfurt Motor Show before delivery to Miami Porsche/VW dealer and amateur racer Mike Marshall. The car enjoyed an active competition debut, notching early SCCA victories and a class podium at the 1956 Sebring 12 Hours co-driven by Porsche racing chief Huschke von Hanstein. After passing through several American owners it was exported to Italy in the late 1980s, where it received FIVA homologation and has since been maintained to a high standard by its current Italian owner.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold €2,744,000 (≈ $3.02M)
- 1955 →Factory deliveryMike Marshallfull documentation
Porsche and Volkswagen dealer and amateur racer based in Miami, Florida; took delivery after the car's display at the Frankfurt Motor Show and immediately began racing it.
- 1993-07-01 → 1999Private salePierluigi Bartolifull documentation
Resident of Riva di Solto; registered the car in Italy under BG-B67015 on 28 August 1997. Acquisition date documented in the Estratto Chronologico.
- 1999 →Private saleItalian businessman and enthusiast (current vendor)partial documentation
Has maintained the car without regard to expense and kept it in race-ready condition throughout their ownership.
- Date unknownPrivate saleJoe Sheppardpartial documentation
Known locally as a talented amateur racer; the sale was arranged by his father. He raced the car at Chester and Gainesville, and later lent it to friend Duncan Forlong.
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownBob Rosspartial documentation
Believed to have been the next custodian after Sheppard; reportedly brought the car regularly to Sebring with his racing associates.
- Date unknownPrivate saleLynn Larsonpartial documentation
Purchased the car in the mid-to-late 1980s but quickly passed it to a friend.
- Date unknownPrivate salePhil Bagleypartial documentation
Acquired from Larson and subsequently sold the car to a buyer who then exported it to Italy.
Competition
- 1955SCCASCCA race at Waterboro, South CarolinaDriver: Mike Marshall1st
First competitive outing for the car, held roughly two months after its Frankfurt show debut.
- 1955-12-01Nassau Speed Week — preliminary raceDriver: Mike Marshall6th
Competed in multiple Nassau events; finished 6th in the preliminary but retired from both the Governor's Cup and the All-Porsche contest.
- 1955-12-01Nassau Speed Week — Governor's CupDriver: Mike MarshallDNF
- 1955-12-01Nassau Speed Week — All-Porsche contestDriver: Mike MarshallDNF
- 1955-12-01Nassau Speed Week — Under-Two-Litre Production raceDriver: Mike Marshall4th
- 1956SCCASCCA race at Gainesville, FloridaDriver: Mike Marshall
- 1956SCCASCCA races at Waterboro, South CarolinaDriver: Mike Marshall1st and 2nd
- 1956Sebring 12 HoursDriver: Mike Marshall14th overall, 3rd in class
Co-driven with Porsche racing director Huschke von Hanstein, who had previously been photographed with the car at the Frankfurt show.
- 1956SCCASCCA race at Elkhart Lake, WisconsinDriver: Mike Marshall
- 1956SCCASCCA race at Montgomery, AlabamaDriver: Mike Marshall
- 1956SCCASCCA race at Chester, CarolinaDriver: Mike Marshall
- 1956-02-01SCCASCCA Regional races at Punta Gorda, FloridaDriver: Mike MarshallTwo wins (pair of Regional victories)
Marshall took two SCCA Regional victories at this Florida venue in February 1956.
- 1956-12-01Nassau Speed WeekDriver: Mike Marshall
- 1957Race weekend at New Smyrna Beach, FloridaDriver: Mike MarshallDNF — off in preliminary event
Marshall went off-course in a preliminary race at the 2.4-mile New Smyrna Beach circuit, sidelining the car for the remainder of the weekend.
- —SCCASCCA race at ChesterDriver: Joe Sheppard
- —SCCASCCA race at GainesvilleDriver: Joe Sheppard
- —Race at Dunnellon Park, Florida (first)Driver: Duncan Forlong
Forlong borrowed the car from Sheppard for this and one additional race at the same venue.
- —Race at Dunnellon Park, Florida (second)Driver: Duncan Forlong
Maintenance & restoration
- 1989Inspection
Formal inspection carried out by a Mr Parigi in preparation for FIVA homologation; licence number 0120620 was eventually issued by the Automotoclub Storico Italiano, with the process completed on 21 April 1997.
Italian registration BG-B67015 formally assigned on 28 August 1997.
- —Restoration
Car restored to its original silver livery with light blue painted fender darts.
Date of restoration not specified in the prose.
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