1957 Porsche 550A Spyder
- Engine
- Flat-four, 135 bhp at 7,200 rpm, 9.8:1 compression, Weber 40 DCM twin-choke carburetors
Chassis 550A-0121 is the fifteenth of just forty Porsche 550A Spyders produced, a model that represented a fundamental advance over the original 550 through its stiffer and lighter steel spaceframe, revised suspension geometry, and uprated flat-four engine. Delivered new in early 1957 to Danish racing patron Preben Andersen, it was campaigned successfully in Scandinavia before passing to East Africa, where it saw further competition in Kenya and Tanzania across the 1960s. After a long Italian custodianship that included multiple Mille Miglia entries, the car underwent a meticulous four-year restoration completed in 2016, returning it to original factory specification, subsequently endorsed by Porsche engineer and former works driver Jürgen Barth.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold €3,380,000 (≈ $3.72M)
- 1957-03-01 → 1958Factory deliveryPreben Andersen (Scuderia Palan)full documentation
Sole Danish delivery; car raced under Danish national colors by Julius Voigt-Nielsen throughout the 1957 season.
- 1958 → 1962Private saleJohn Manussispartial documentation
British driver based in Kenya; an unrelated accident eventually prevented him from driving, after which his navigator took over competition duties.
- 1962 →Private saleLucille Cardwell and William J. Cardwellpartial documentation
Couple based in Tanzania who continued to campaign the car actively after acquiring it from Manussis.
- → 1978Private saleGordon Crowpartial documentation
Nairobi-based dealer who repainted the car blue and used it in various local events; Jürgen Barth encountered the car during this ownership in 1969.
- 1978 → 2009Private saleGiuseppe Freschipartial documentation
Italian collector from Brescia who held the car for roughly three decades and entered it in the Mille Miglia on several occasions.
- 2011 → 2011Private salePierre Assopartial documentation
French owner who retained the car only briefly before passing it on.
- 2011 →Private saleCurrent consignorfull documentation
Attracted by the car's originality; commissioned a four-year specialist restoration completed in 2016, with provenance supported by expert reports from Jürgen Barth and Andrew Hosking.
Competition
- 1957-04-01Roskilde RingDriver: Julius Voigt-Nielsen1st
Debut outing for the car under Danish ownership; car carried Danish flag livery on the hood.
- 1957-06-01Roskilde Ring (June event)Driver: Julius Voigt-Nielsen1st
One of two additional victories scored during the 1957 season.
- 1957-08-01Roskilde Ring (August event)Driver: Julius Voigt-Nielsen1st
Second additional victory of the 1957 season; car also recorded two third-place finishes before the season ended.
- 1961-12-01Nakuru Park Motor Circuit (December 1961, race 1)Driver: Lucille Cardwell1st
Cardwell took sole charge after Manussis was sidelined by an off-track accident; won twice at this venue in the same month.
- 1961-12-01Nakuru Park Motor Circuit (December 1961, race 2)Driver: Lucille Cardwell1st
Second consecutive victory at Nakuru during the same December period.
- —Mille Miglia StoricaMille Miglia (multiple editions)Driver: Giuseppe Freschi
Freschi entered the car in the historic Mille Miglia on several occasions during his long ownership, with participation recorded as recently as 2010.
Maintenance & restoration
- 2016Restoration
A comprehensive four-year ground-up restoration commissioned in 2012 and finished in 2016, using correct period factory tooling and methods throughout, returning the car to its original specification in every detail.
Post-restoration, Jürgen Barth inspected the car and confirmed it was correct in all technical and visual respects to its 1957 factory condition. The car had accumulated only approximately 100 km since completion.
- —Bodywork
Car was repainted blue by owner Gordon Crow during his tenure in the late 1960s to early 1970s.
This repaint was later reversed during the 2012–2016 restoration.
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