It was sad to hear Joe Sheppard, a Porsche racing legend for the 1950s, passed away this week on Sunday 13 October 2019 at the age of 91. Joe was a very successful driver, racing the local scene around the Florida area where he grew up and lived. Joe started racing a Lotus 9 in… Continue Reading»
I have been an avid follower of the Mille Miglia for over a decade, with a bucket list dream to be there and experience the spectacle of the cars as they were being prepared to leave the start line for the four-day return journey from Brescia to Rome and back to Brescia. This year I… Continue Reading»
The Mille Miglia was an annual race that took place between 1927 and 1957. It wasn’t until 1949 when the organizing committee developed a system to ensure the increased amount of entrants, now over 450, left the start line in an orderly manner. Each car was allocated a race number which corresponded to the time… Continue Reading»
With the completion of the Mexican section of the Panamerican Highway in 1950, the Mexican government organized a nine-stage, five-day race across the country to promote business connections into Mexico. The Carrera Panamericana was a sports car racing event on open roads, similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy and counted towards… Continue Reading»
I have seen a number of original 550s in the flesh and also studied thousands of photos of others, finding something new each time I look. I am always drawn to the detail of the cars and find them most fascinating, even down to the welds on the chassis which seem remarkably consistent. One body… Continue Reading»
The Rudge Whitworth hub spinners originated back in the early 1900s when Whitworth Cycle Co rescued the ailing Rudge Cycle Co to form Rudge Whitworth Ltd. Rudge wheels were originally sold as an aftermarket fitment to quickly deal with frequent punctures due to tyre unreliability, and in the emerging sport of motor racing, it was… Continue Reading»
A new addition to my model collection arrived today, a 1:6 scale model of a 550 Spyder buck laser cut out of aluminium to go with my 1:18 scale model buck of the same. It is a mother of a model measuring over half a metre long. The model comes as a flat pack where… Continue Reading»
I am slowly building up a collection of original race photos and slides from the 50s and 60s that show spyders as they were in racing livery. Today they are restored back to a standard of when they left the factory as opposed to the unique body changes that each driver had made to make… Continue Reading»
It was sad to hear the passing of legendary racer Denise McCluggage on 5th May 2015 at the age of 88. She had made racing a life career from an early age as a sportswriter for the New York Herald Tribune. By 1955, she was a regular at local events on the East Coast driving a Jaguar… Continue Reading»
The Porsche 550 was pivotal in the success of Porsche evolving into the marque it is today. It was the purpose built racer that was dominant against both the equals and giants of motor racing during the 50s. I get immense satisfaction researching the provenance of these Spyders but sometimes resources are limited to information… Continue Reading»