James Dean called his Porsche 550 "Little bastard" and even had the nickname painted in black on the rear lid! The car gained notoriety in tragic circumstances when the actor was killed at the wheel on a Californian highway in 1955, but Porsche fans still enthused about the 550, the first real racing car produced by the German manufacturer and launched in 1953.

Porsche actually made a discreet entrance into the motor racing world, fitting the car with a small engine (under 1,500 cm3), and its official launch went relatively unnoticed. However, the 550, which subsequently gained a roof enabling it to reach higher speeds on the straights, soon made a name for itself when it took a 1-2 finish in the 1.5-litre class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1953.

With a class win in the Mille Miglia under its belt, the Porsche 550 returned to Le Mans in 1954 but its results there did not truly reflect actual performance. Three 1.5-litre cars were entered plus one 1.1-litre model in the class below. The “smaller” 550 was driven to class victory by Zora Arkus-Duntov, a driver-cum-engineer who later became known as the “Father of the Corvette”. Meanwhile, two of the 1.5-litre cars were forced to retire early with piston trouble and the third one fell foul to the same issues. Fortunately, the mechanics managed to neutralise the affected cylinder and the car was able to finish the race on three cylinders, taking the win after the leading Oscas spun off track in the rain.

The real triumph for the Porsche 550 came in 1955 when five out the six cars entered completed the race and the German marque came away with a 1-2-3 finish in the 1.5-litre class, finishing fourth, fifth and sixth overall. There was no repeat performance in 1956 but there was another win in the S 1.5 class for Baron Carel Godin de Beaufort in 1957. The next year, he drove chassis #0145, the car up for auction in Monterey this week and one of the very last few cars to leave the factory for the 1958 season. He finished second in class (fifth overall) behind the 550’s replacement, the 718. The Dutch noble even entered the same car in the F1 Grand Prix at the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands!

After competing in four races in 1958 (with a class win at Nürburgring), chassis 0145 was sold to the United States where it remained for several decades before returning to Europe and regularly taking part in the iconic Mille Migilia race. Gooding & Company now estimate its value at between $5-6 million (€4.4-5.3 million).

Photo (credit: D.R. Archives ACO): The #32 Porsche 550 A fielded by Baron Carel Godin de Beaufort at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1958.

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