1959 Porsche 718 RSK news, pictures, and information

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Roadster
Chassis Num: 718.007

718.007 was one of the two factory-built center-seat cars. It raced at Spa, the Targa, Nurburgring, Le Mans, Rheims, and Goodwood in 1959. The Type 718 RSK first appeared in 1957 as an extension of the 550. It featured the same form and wheelbase as the 550A but with a lower body.

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Roadster

1959 Porsche RSK Spyder

The RSK, was an updated version of Porsche's first true racecar, the 550A, which had repeatedly won its class at LeMans. While the RSK still used the 550's 1.5-liter engine from the 550A. It employed a revised suspension, which lowered the car's aerodynamic profile. For 1959, engineers replaced the car's swing axles with upper and lower wishbones. This led to Porsche's continuing its class wins at LeMans, as well as the Targa Florio. The current owner has owned the car for 38 years, and has enjoyed it in vintage racing since 1985.

One of the rarest of all racing Porsche cars, this center seat Porsche RSK is one of only SIX known to have been built. This purpose built sports racing car won many races in Europe, and were the predecessor to the venerable RS60, that was the scourge of early sports car racing in this country. Among the earliest racers in this type of car in this country were Roger Penske, Bob Holbert, Jack McAfee and Phil Hill, as well as many more.

The unique feature of this RSK is its convertibility from single seat, center steering car, to a two seat left hand drive sports car, in approximately one hour. Porsche used these cars for both Formula Two and Sports Car races, by moving the seat and steering wheel from the left side to the center.

This car has become one of the most highly visible in American vintage car racing, consistently being a fixture on the front of grids from Laguna Seca in California to Watkins Glen, New York.

This car was purchased in Dayton, Ohio by Rick Grant after over 20 years of trying....the car had been stored in a north Dayton garage the entire time! Campaigned by Grant Motorsports and driven by Daytonian John Higgins.

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Roadster
Chassis Num: 718-030

This rare Porsche represents one of only six RSK center-seat racing cars ever built. Based on input from factory race car drivers, Porsche made a decision to develop the RSK to compete in both Sports Car and Formula Two racing. To accomplish this, these special RSKs have unique features, and can be quickly converted to a center seat from a two-seat, left-hand drive configuration. 718-030 was delivered to Jean Behra in 1959 for his racing team. Colin Davis drove the car at Reims, followed by Gerard Laurea at Rouen. In late July, Jean Behra drove this car at the Trophees d'Auvergne Sport, finishing second. In 1960, the car was raced at the Grand Prix at Francochamps and entered the Targa Florio and the Avus in 1961. In 1961, Riolo raced the car at the Targa Florio. The car was on display at the Collier Museum in Naples, Florida, from 1981 through 1999.

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Roadster
Chassis Num: 028

In 1957, Formula Two was reinstated as the Junior Formula to Formula One. The rules called for unsupercharged 1500cc engines with full envelope or open-wheeled cars eligible. Porsche achieved success with both G50s and RSKs. In 1959, at the request of several customers, Porsche built rear RSKs that could be switched from left-hand drive to center-steer.

RSK number 718-028 was built in April 1959 and sold to Kurt Christian Goethals in Belgium. RSK number 028 was successfully raced by Goethals for one season and then returned to Porsche to be fitted with a 1600cc engine.

The car remained at the Porsche factory, unraced, until it was sold to a U.S. buyer in 1974. The car was raced briefly, resold, and stored until the current owner purchased it in 1990. RSK #028 was restored in the single seat configuration and has been actively vintage raced since 1992.

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