This is a 1:2.3 scale Porsche 550-style go-kart, it’s officially licensed by Porsche, and each one was built by Pennewitz Design in Lüdersfeld, Germany.
The 550 Spyder is one of the most iconic cars to ever wear the Porsche badge, it won a slew of major international races in period, and took countless class wins. Despite all of this, the most famous 550 is likely the one that was bought by James Dean. He died in it just three weeks later when someone pulled onto Highway 41 in front of him.
This is a 1:2.3 scale Porsche 550-style go-kart, it’s officially licensed by Porsche, and each one was built by Pennewitz Design in Lüdersfeld, Germany.
History Speedrun: The Porsche 550 Spyder
The Porsche 550 has the historic distinction of being the first car Porsche ever built specifically for racing. The company made just 90 examples of the original ladder-frame version between 1953 and 1956, prototypes included, and the surviving examples are now among the most sought after vintage Porsches in existence.
The design of the 550 drew on a series of racing specials, some of them mid-engined, that Frankfurt dealer Walter Glöckler built from Volkswagen and Porsche parts in-period.
Porsche’s 550 version used a steel tube ladder frame clothed in a hand-formed aluminum body, it had Volkswagen-style trailing arms and transverse torsion bars at the front, swing axles and torsion bars at the rear, and hydraulic drum brakes all round.
The first 550s were powered by a 1.5 liter pushrod flat-four rated at 77 bhp. Helm Glöckler won his class on the car’s debut at the Nürburgring’s Eifelrennen in May of 1953, and in June a pair of 550 coupés finished 1st and 2nd in class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Ernst Fuhrmann’s advanced Type 547 engine soon followed, it was an air-cooled 1.5 liter (1,498 cc) flat-four that used two overhead camshafts per bank, driven by shafts and bevel gears, and had a dual ignition system, dry-sump lubrication, and a roller-bearing crankshaft.
In 1954 form, the Type 547 engine made 108 bhp at 6,200 rpm and drove the rear wheels through a 4-speed gearbox. The car weighed about 1,213 lbs (550 kgs) dry, and top speed was a respectable 137 mph (220 km/h).
Porsche’s 550 Spyder used a steel tube ladder frame clothed in a hand-formed aluminum body, it had Volkswagen-style trailing arms and transverse torsion bars at the front, swing axles and torsion bars at the rear, and hydraulic drum brakes all round. Images provided by Porsche AG.
Hans Herrmann and Herbert Linge won their class in the 1954 Mille Miglia in their 550 and finished 6th overall, having famously ducked under a closing railroad crossing gate on the way.
That year 550s also won the 1.5 liter and 1.1 liter classes at Le Mans, and Herrmann finished 3rd overall and 1st in class at the Carrera Panamericana. Porsche took the Carrera name from that result and used it on 356 models fitted with the four-cam engine, as well as a slew of later 911s.
The Porsche 550A of 1956 swapped the ladder frame for a lighter, stiffer spaceframe, and on June the 10th that year Umberto Maglioli drove one to overall victory in the Targa Florio. It was Porsche’s 1st overall win in a major sports car race.
The Porsche 550 Go-Kart By Pennewitz Design
This Porsche 550 Spyder-style electric go-kart was manufactured under license from Porsche AG by Pennewitz Design of Lüdersfeld, Germany. Each one was built at 1:2.3 scale, and has Stone Grey plastic bodywork with red rear fender stripes, mounted on a steel and aluminum chassis. It has Porsche and Spyder badges, leather engine-cover straps, a side mirror, working front and rear lights, and a faux center-exit exhaust.
Power comes from a rear-mounted Lenze electric motor, with selectable fast and slow speed settings. The kart rides on 12 inch steel wheels shod with Impac Street Runner tires, with braking provided by a cross-drilled disc mounted on the rear axle.
The single-seat cockpit has brown upholstery, a wood-rimmed three-spoke steering wheel, (simulated) dashboard instruments, and a BogieMann II MP3 player with rear-mounted speakers.
This Porsche 550 Spyder-style electric go-kart was manufactured under license from Porsche AG by Pennewitz Design of Lüdersfeld, Germany. Each one was built at 1:2.3 scale, and has Stone Grey plastic bodywork with red rear fender stripes, mounted on a steel and aluminum chassis.
The seller is said to have bought this kart 18 years ago, and it has reportedly remained unused throughout that period. It is now being offered for sale out of Waltham, Massachusetts, accompanied by a battery charger, Porsche keyring, and MP3 player accessories.
The manufacturer’s identification plaque and serial number remain attached to the aluminum chassis, and the kart is being sold on a bill of sale. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
