European Hill Climb Championship: The Porsche Saga from 1958

In the late '50s, hill climb races were popular among enthusiasts, and car manufacturers saw a business opportunity to sell their cars to private drivers for these races. The European Hill Climb Championship was the perfect showcase. Porsche entered the field with an official team, featuring the 718 RSK, an evolution of the successful 550, with a lighter, stiffer spaceframe chassis and new suspensions. The RSK's ace was its ability to fit different engine sizes, adapting to the FIA's frequently changing international race regulations. In 1958, the European Hill Climb Championship limited engine size to 1500cc, a great opportunity for Stuttgart's little horse. The RSK, driven by Germans Wolfgang Von Trips and Edgar Barth, won the Championship in 1958 and 1959. The following year, regulations changed again, increasing the limit to 2000cc, and the 718 was equipped with a 2-liter flat-four engine developed by Ernst Fuhrmann, winning the European Hill Climb Championship again in 1960 and 1961 with Swiss driver Heini Walter.

The 718 RSK proved a great success for Porsche, perfect for hill climbs due to its lightness.

During this period, Ludovico Scarfiotti also competed in the EHCC with good results, despite having clearly inferior cars compared to Porsche's squadron. In the 1962 season, the Italian driver managed to convince Eugenio Dragoni, then Ferrari's Sporting Director, and Enzo Ferrari to provide him with the Dino 196 SP to try to beat the Germans. The car was entrusted to Scuderia Sant'Ambroeus, not an official entry but close enough. Scarfiotti won the Championship in 1962, a result poorly received by Porsche, who sharpened their weapons for 1963. Their new weapon was the Porsche 718/8 W-RS Spyder, a further evolution of the previous dominant car. The engine size remained 2 liters, but the cylinders doubled to 8, producing 240hp with a total weight of just over 600kg. Stuttgart's little horse had no rivals, and Edgar Barth won in 1963 and 1964, helped by Maranello's decision to withdraw support for Scarfiotti and Sant'Ambroeus.

The Porsche 718/8 W-RS Spyder, equipped with an 8-cylinder boxer engine producing 240hp and weighing just 600kg.

In 1965, Scarfiotti managed to break the German dominance again, winning the Championship with the Dino 206 SP. In response to Ferrari's victory, Porsche focused on weight reduction, developing ultra-light hill climb cars like the 8-cylinder Bergspyder with technical solutions like beryllium brakes on the 909, reducing weight to an incredibly low 375kg. From 1966 to 1968, no one could challenge Stuttgart, thanks to three consecutive Championships won by German driver Gerhard Mitter.

Porsche hill climb cars featured weight-saving innovations like beryllium brakes on the 909 Bergspyder.

In 1969, Ferrari once again snatched the European Hill Climb Championship from Porsche with Peter Schetty's 212 E, continuing a wonderful chapter in sports where the two car manufacturers competed to prove their superiority. But that's a story we'll explore next week on roarington.com.

The Porsche 910 Bergspyder, winner of the European Hill Climb Championship in 1967 with Gerhard Mitter at the wheel.