1955 Porsche 550 RS Spyder Spyder

Inspired by the Porsche 356 created by Dr. Ferry Porsche, Porsche decided to build a car designed specifically for racing. The Porsche 550 Spyder was introduced at the 1953 Paris Auto Show and 78 cars were produced in open and closed configurations. The first three prototypes were coupes with a removable hardtop. The first Porsche 550 Spyder appeared at the Nurburgring in May 1953 winning its first race. Porsche 550 Spyders started in over 370 races around the European and US circuits between 1953 and as late as 1965 winning 95 races outright as well as 75 class wins.

This car was originally delivered to Swiss racer Walter Riggenberg (a Swiss hotelier and friend of Ferry Porsche's) in March of 1955 and with co-driver Richard von Frankenberg they set several new international records at Montlhery in France. The two drivers set no fewer than six world records in the brand-new 550 RS Spyder. They broke the 1500-cc category, 200-mile, three-hour, 500-mile, and six-hour records. The fastest of these records was set with a mesmerizing average speed of 131 mph.

Ringgenberg sold the 550 to Michael and Pierre May. Michael May was an engineering student with a particular interest in motor racing.

May realized that if he used a device that had the profile of an upside-down aeroplane wing, he could generate downforce pushing the car more firmly onto the track. At the 1956 Nurburgring 1000km, he proved to be four seconds faster than the new 550A Spyder models with his pioneering invention. It was nicknamed 'the first winged Porsche.'