The Porsche 550 Spyder is a racing sports car built by the German automaker between 1953 and 1956. The racer was inspired by the 356 model which was built in some Spyder prototypes and used for racing. In 1951, the factory decided to build car purposely for the racetrack and the first Porsche 550 Spyder was unveiled two years later at the 1953 Paris Motor Show. The first hand-built prototypes were made as a coupe with a removable roof. A total of 90 cars including prototype and customer builds were ever made. One of the Spyder (nicknamed ‘Little Bastard’) was owned by an American actor James Dean who 9 days after the purchase of the vehicle fatally crashed it in California.