Porsche 718

The 718 was developed as a successor to the Porsche 550A with improvements made to the body work and suspension. The car's full name is 718 RSK, where "RS" stands for RennSport (sports-racing) and the "K" reflects the shape of the car's revised torsion-bar suspension. It utilized the 1.5-litre Type 547/3 quad-cam engine, which produced 142 horsepower.

In 1958, Jean Behra and Hans Herrmann drove a 1.6-litre RSK Spyder to third place overall at Le Mans. Right after them, in fourth place overall and first in class came the RSK #31 (1.5-litre engine), piloted by Edgar Barth and Paul Frère. Jean Behra also drove one of the cars to second place at the Targa Florio (an FIA World Sportscar Championship race from 1955–1973).

In 1959, the car, driven by Edgar Barth and Wolfgang Seidel, achieved overall victory at the 1959 Targa Florio. A 718 also won the European Hill Climb Championship in both 1958 and 1959. A 718 RS60 won the Targa Florio again in 1960. In 1963, Porsche achieved another Targa Florio victory with a 718 GTR Coupé.

Porsche made their F2 debut with victories at Reims and AVUS in 1958. In 1959 other RSK's were converted for single seater racing and at the XV B.A.R.C. '200' at Aintree in 1960 Porsche scored a 1–2–3 victory with Stirling Moss, Jo Bonnier and Graham Hill all in 718s. The feat was repeated again later in the year at the race at Zeltweg, Austria.

Formula One switched to a 1.5-litre formula in 1961 and Porsche entered three 718s for Dan Gurney, Hans Herrmann and Jo Bonnier. Gurney scored three 2nd places (France, Italy and United States) taking him to 4th place in the Drivers' Championship.

In 1957 the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) changed their rules to allow cars with enveloping bodywork to compete in Formula races. That year Porsche entered three 550/1500RS Spyders in the 1957 German Grand Prix Formula Two (F2) event. Changes to the cars were minimal, being limited to removing the passenger seats and spare tires.

For 1958 Porsche fielded a modified 718, called the RSK Mittellenker (centre-steer), for F2 events. The bodywork for this car was only slightly different from the sportscar model, but the single seat was now in the centre of the cockpit, with the steering wheel, pedals, and shift lever relocated to accommodate the change and a fairing enclosing more of the cockpit opening. Jean Behra drove the car to a win at the F2 event at Reims that year.

In 1959 Porsche unveiled the prototype of a narrow, open-wheeled car called the Porsche 718/2 that married the 718's mechanicals with a more traditional single-seat Formula body. The unpainted car was entered in the 1959 Monaco Grand Prix, where driver Wolfgang von Trips qualified twelfth, but crashed on the second lap of the race.

For the 1960 season the FIA made changes to the regulation regarding the windscreen and cockpit size. Applying these changes, together with a larger (1.6-litre) Type 547/3 engine developing 160 horsepower and a new double wishbone rear suspension, resulted in the RS 60 model. The RS 60 brought Porsche victory at the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring with a car driven by Hans Herrmann and Olivier Gendebien.

For 1961 the model name was changed to "RS 61" although it was almost identical to the RS 60. An RS 61 won the European Hill Climb Championship.

The W-RS version was developed in 1961. Initially fitted with a 4-cylinder engine, the car was later fitted with Porsche's air-cooled Type 771 2.0 L flat-eight engine which produced 240 horsepower. A W-RS finished 8th at Le Mans in 1963.

A Coupé version was developed from the RS 61. Initially fitted with a 4-cylinder engine, this car was also upgraded to an 8-cylinder F1 derived engine which produced 210 horsepower. The car was also fitted with disc brakes. A GTR Coupé enabled drivers Jo Bonnier and Carlo Maria Abate to win the Targa Florio in 1963 once more.

The 718 remained in use by privateers after the factory team moved to newer models. Carel Godin de Beaufort campaigned a 718 in Formula One between 1961 and 1964.

In sports car racing, the W-RS variant—which had been upgraded with a 2.0-litre flat-eight engine producing 240 horsepower—continued to compete until 1964. It was eventually replaced by the Porsche 904.

This article is based on the Wikipedia article "Porsche 718". No primary archives, autobiographies, period programmes, or specialist publications were consulted.