The Giant Killer

The great drive to relaunch the European economy after the Second World War was based mainly on the construction industry and on mass motorization. Up until the 1930s, cars had been a luxury enjoyed only by the rich, and racing drivers came from a privileged and daredevil wealthy elite. With the advent of the cars-for-everyone concept, however, the dream of becoming a racing driver was suddenly within reach of anyone who could get behind a wheel: road races, epitomized by the Mille Miglia, track races and hill climbs attracted the most diverse cars, many of which were modified or converted versions of standard models. Everyone who wanted to drive a car harbored dreams, even unconsciously, of racing glory, be it as a driver or a spectator.

Simplicity and perfection in equal measure: the 550 RS is Ferry Porsche’s interpretation of the perfect racer: essential, light and aerodynamic and with a rear-mounted engine.

This background is important in order to correctly understand and interpret Ferdinand Porsche's brilliant idea of producing sports and racing cars derived from the people’s car par excellence: the Volkswagen Beetle, with its robust and simple, rear-mounted air-cooled four-cylinder engine. It was this intuition that allowed Porsche to lay the foundations on which to build the empire that we know today. While the Porsche 550 was nothing like the Beetle, the models that preceded it, i.e. the various versions of the famous 356, were all derivations of Hitler’s beloved “people’s car”.