A barn-find 1956 Porsche 550 Spyder with updated RS60 bodywork and illustrious ownership history is on sale in the Gooding London 2022 classic car auction.
Gooding announced a 1956 Porsche 550 Spyder in barn-found condition for the London 2022 sale. This Porsche has rarely been seen in the previous 35 years and will require extensive (and expensive) work to return to the road. The Porsche 550 Spyder was owned and raced in period by several Swiss racing drivers including Rita Rampinelli and Heinz Schiller. It was also at some stage owned by Jo Siffert.
Gooding London Sale 2022
Gooding & Company London classic car auction: 3 September 2022 at Hampton Court Palace in conjunction with the Concours of Elegance.
London is currently the only location outside the USA where Gooding stage an annual classic car auction. At the first London sale, the Passion of a Lifetime Auction in 2020, Gooding earned £34,048,900 ($45,285,037) with a recorded average price per car of £2,432,064 ($3,234,645). The sale included two Bugattis for over $10 million including the most expensive Bugatti ever — a 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports that Gooding sold for $12,681,550.
In 2021, the London sale was a more modest online-only auction with £5,259,650 earned from only 14 cars with a 86% sell-through rate. The top result was for the 1969 Ford GT40, chassis P/1085 that sold for £2,508,000 ($3,462,000).
1956 Porsche 550 Spyder at Gooding London 2022
The 1956 Porsche 550 Spyder, chassis 550-0079, (Estimate: £1,250,000 – £1,750,000 / $1,500,000 – $2,150,000) is an exciting barn-find car heading for the Gooding London 2022 classic car auction. It was owned by several Swiss racing drivers and received upgrades to keep the car up to speed during the 1960s. It wears RS60 bodywork but it is the barn-find condition rather than unoriginality that contributes to the low estimate for a 550.
A purpose-built competition car that elevated Porsche’s motorsport status in the 1950s, the 550 Spyder quickly became one of history’s most important race cars, clocking significant victories at Nürburgring, Le Mans, Carrera Panamericana, and the Buenos Aires 1000 Km.
This particular 550 Spyder, chassis 550-0079, was completed on 2 February 1956, and was subsequently used for a promotional image outside of the Porsche factory to demonstrate the wide range of color options available for the model. This example was originally finished in red with white darts.
Porsche 550-0079 was initially sold to Rita Rampinelli, a notable Swiss female race car driver who competed with the Spyder for a brief period of time before passing it on to fellow Swiss competitor, Heinz Schiller. Schiller competed with the car across Europe at circuits such as Monza and Avus, as well as in his home country of Switzerland. The car was then owned by a third racing driver, Edouard Margairaz, who continued to regularly enter the car in Swiss hill climb events.
Paperwork accompanying chassis 550-0079 suggests that the car eventually passed through the hands of famed Swiss Grand Prix winner and former F1 ace, Jo Siffert, and was later owned by Herbert Kuke, who sold it to the consignor’s family in July 1982. It has remained in its current ownership since then, belonging to a renowned collection in the UK consisting of many other great classics.
Porsche 550 with RS60 Bodywork
It is believed that during the 1960s, this Porsche 550-0079 was upgraded with “werks” factory components to bring the Spyder more in line with the modern Porsche variants of that time in an effective attempt to “upgrade” the car. These components included a factory engine and the updated RS60 bodywork, which the car still wears today.
A true barn-find, this 550 Spyder has been mainly kept out of the public eye and not seen the light of day for nearly 35 years, save for two appearances in the 1980s at the Oldtimer Grand Prix and a historic race at Zolder.
Coming to auction in “as-found” condition, this enthralling find with robust provenance, including some of the greatest Swiss names in motorsports, presents an interesting opportunity. In recent years, Porsche 550s in various versions and different racing histories, have sold for between $3 million and the model record Seinfeld-owned Spyder that achieved $5,335,000 at Gooding Amelia Island 2016.
More on Gooding London 2022 Sale
Pre-Sale Announcements:
- 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione
- 1932 Bugatti Type 55 Cabriolet
- 1956 Porsche 550 Spyder (Barn-Find)
- 1950s British Classics: 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Vantage Convertible and 1952 Frazer-Nash Le Mans Replica
- More cars: 1912 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, a 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ, and a 1937 Bugatti Type 57C Ventoux
Previous London Sale Results:
