The Vehicle:
It was an exemplary entry for numerous races during its four active years as a sports car prototype. Built in 1961, this 718 RS Spyder with the chassis number 718 047 was raced all over Europe and traveled to California, to the Bahamas and to Puerto Rico. Although designed for the new eight-cylinder engine, the Spyder premiered with well-proven "Fuhrmann" four cylinder engine at the famous Targa Florio in 1961.
In this first race, Porsche's start driver Dan Garney and Joakim Bonnier, took second place as runners-up to a
Ferrari. It was only in 1962 that the eight-cylinder engine with unincreased capacity of two liters, used in Porsche's 804
Formula One race car, succeeded the four camshaft four-cylinder engine that performed successfuly in the 718 Spyder for more than seven years. Gran Prix experience thus provided new opportunities for the GT prototype during the first time the "World Endurance Trophy" took place. After sensational class wins in the 1962 Targa Florio and the 1000 km race on the Nurburgring, at both wuth the eight-cylinder prototype achieved third place in the overvall classification,
Porsche came second at this "World Cup of Speed and Endurance". Gurney, Phil Hill, and Bonnier participated in numerious races in the USA in this car. In 1963 and 1964, this RS-Spyder dominated the heats contributing to the European mountain championships three times in a rowl, with Edgar Barth. For the unusually long life of a race car, the mechanincs called it "Grandma".
Technical Specifications:
Make and Model:
Porsche 718 RS Spyder
Year: 1961
Engine: 8 cylinder
Power: 210 hp
Displacement: 1981,5 ccm
Transmission: 6-speed
Chassis: Steel
Wheel Base: 2335 mm
Dimensions: Length 4020 mm, Width 1550 mm, Height 930 mm.
Images were reprinted with permissions from original author Ken Leonard! Content was written by Saulius Narunas for www.sport-cars.org only and you MAY NOT copy, distribute or use this page's content for any commercial or non-commerical purpose without written permission of this site owner and photos authors!
January 6, 2010, 11:55 am
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