Even as Porsche was ramping up production of its rear-engine 356 road car in the early 1950s, the budding carmaker’s engineers were starting a roadmap to the marque’s mid-engine racecar future with the tiny but mighty 1953-1956 550 Spyder.
Many auto aficionados no doubt resonate with the idea of a thread running through a carmaker’s timeline and model history, one that then defines the marque’s heritage. Marketing departments sometimes overplay heritage, of course. The best messengers for heritage should be cars that deftly blend a sense of history with their modernity. Call it retro done right.
