Porsche 718 Race car

Production period:	1957 to 1962
Class :	race car
Body versions :	Coupe , Roadster , Monoposto
Engines:	Gasoline  :1.5-2.0 liters (104-176 kW)
Length:	3350-4020 mm
Width:	1510-1550 mm
Height:	880-980 mm
Wheelbase :	2100-2335 mm
Curb weight :	456-670 kg
previous model	Porsche 550

The Porsche 718 is a sports car of Dr.-Ing. hc F. Porsche KG . It was developed in 1957 from the Porsche 550 and was able to exceed the successes of its predecessor as a racing car .

History

The Porsche 718 was built in the period from 1957 to 1962. Although it was designed as a racing car, it could also be approved for public road traffic. Of course, this was no longer the case for the Formula 2 and Formula 1 versions.

It was available in numerous Spyder variants (RSK to RS 61), and Porsche also developed it into a single-seater for Formula 2 and Formula 1 racing. Private drivers drove the 718 until 1964 in Formula 1 .Externally, This was at first barely distinguishable from the predecessor. The improvements were under the body. The engines and the brake system were more powerful and, above all, the car was lighter than the Porsche 550.

The first engines initially produced 104 kW (142 hp) at 7500 rpm. The performance was further increased until 1961, so that it was in the last Porsche 718 at a speed of 8000 / min at 118 kW (160 hp).

Already at the Le Mans 24 Hours race in 1958 , the Porsche 718 RSK sensationally finished 3rd and 4th in the overall standings, with Jean Behra / Hans Herrmann in the 1600s for the two-liter class and Edgar Barth / Paul Frère in the 1500s , The Porsche 550 A of Carel Godin de Beaufort / Herbert Linge completed the triumph, in which two of the three-liter Ferrari 250 TR " Testa Rossa " were sent to the squares. It was not until 1966 that the low-displacement Porsche should be able to get back on the "podium".

In 1960, with Hans Herrmann / Olivier Gendebien , Porsche succeeded for the first time in the 12-hour race of Sebring , a second important run of the World Sportscar Championship , to win an overall victory. Also victorious were the 718 RS versions in the Targa Florio 1959 , 1960 and 1963 . In between you had to bend the larger displacement Ferrari Dino 246SP .

From 1958 to 1961 Porsche also won the European Mountain Championship with the Spyder , against u. a. the Borgward with its modern four-valve engines.The sports car successor came after the withdrawal from F1 1963, the Porsche 904 .

Formula 1 

Due to the rule change from 1961, the 718 and later the successor Porsche 787 factory was used in the F1.

Although it developed an early eight-cylinder, but the use was delayed again and again. In Zandvoort showed the inferiority of the 718 and 787 in terms of chassis and engine drastically. Dan Gurney with 787 was outclassed and only tenth in the 15-car small field. The privateer Carel Godin de Beaufort and Hans Herrmann with a disappointingly weak injection engine of the 718 were with 3 laps behind the taillights.

In Spa-Francorchamps instead of injection back to carburetor were back to finish sixth and seven. At the next race , which took place on the fast track of Reims , Porsche almost won the first victory, but that contributed to failures of Ferrari newcomer Giancarlo Baghetti . Also on the domestic routes Solitude (winner in the non-World Cup race was Innes Ireland on Lotus) and Nürburgring , the results were not satisfactory. A surprising success of the 718 in Formula 1 was fourth place by Gerhard Mitter at the 1963 German Grand Prix.

Overall, the 718 proved to be too big and too weak for the F1. For the F1 season 1962, therefore, the Porsche 804 was developed. Carel Godin de Beaufort continued to use a 718 as a private driver in the F1; In 1964 he had a fatal accident with the car.

Formula 2 

For use in Formula 2 races, the two-seater was first modified in 1958 to and from 1959 a real monoposto with open wheels.

In 1960, continued Rob Walker for Stirling Moss a one 718 at F2 race. Since Moss was injured, replaced him at the Grand Prix Solitude in Stuttgart one of the present for the motorcycle Grand Prix two-wheeled pilot, the Briton John Surtees . However, it won Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips on the Ferrari Dino , who dominated next year as Ferrari 156 in the F1.The Grand Prix of Germany on the Nürburgring - Südschleife , which was advertised in 1960 for F2, was won by Joakim Bonnier . In addition, they entered the Grand Prix of Italy in Monza , where was still driven on the steep-curve variant. Hans Herrmann scored the sixth place, a championship point against the much better with 2.5 liter displacement F1 Ferrari. The Englishmen stayed away in protest against the safety of the high-speed line and the upcoming rule change.