<< Prev Page 2 of 3 Next >> For the 1957 season all eyes were back on the chassis and body once more. Following the lines of the experimental low-drag 'Mickey Mouse' spyder a new body design was penned. It was both lower and smoother than that of its predecessors. Under the aluminium body there were several more detail changes. The front trailing arms were relocated to improve the suspension dynamics; the camber of the front wheels would now increase as the wheels moved upwards. The changes required the steering box to be mounted in the middle of the car. The much lower front frame resembled the letter K if looked at from the front and the new version was commonly referred to as the 'RSK'. The internal name for the new car was the Type 718.
The works team first entered the Type 718 RSK at the 1957 Nürburgring 1000 km race, but it only practiced. The car's first race was Le Mans, where it was forced to retire after 10 hours as the result of an accident. The car had not impressed at either events, so much time was spent improving the RSK for the 1958 season. First to go was the unusual front suspension and replaced by the original configuration. There were more dramatic changes at the rear, where for the first time in Porsche history, the traditional swing-axle design was discarded. A Watt-linkage of two radius rods replaced the single trailing arm, better controlling the angle of the wheel during travel. The 1.5 litre engine was modified and fitted with larger Carburetors, resulting in the 142 bhp Type 547/3. The larger 1.6 and 1.7 engines were also fitted to 718 RSK chassis for various races.
At least two of the RSKs used in 1957 were updated to the new specification and joined several new cars during the 1958 season. The modifications proved to be highly successful as the new Porsches were clearly the fastest cars in their class. Unfortunately the now heavily stressed engine and gearbox showed signs of weakness at several key moments, causing retirements at Sebring and the Nürburgring. At the Targa Florio Jean Behra impressed by finishing second overall in a 1.5 litre engined RSK. At Le Mans Jurgen Barth and Paul Frere placed a 1.5 litre RSK fourth overall and first in class. Jean Behra and Hans Herrmann did one better with a 1.6 litre engined example taking third and first in the 2 litre class. Now completely refined, the RSK was even more successful in 1959 with an overal win at the Targa Florio and a podium finish at the Sebring 12 Hours.
The Porsche 718 RSK did not only make its mark on sports car racing, it also proved to be a commendable Formula 2 racer. Thanks to the central location of the steering box, the RSK could easily be converted to single seater specification. Porsche already planned to race an RSK at Reims in 1957, but the Le Mans crash prevented that. At the 1957 Nürburgring Grand Prix, a modified 550A set the fastest F2 practice time and won the F2 race. In 1958 the RSK made its F2 debut with a victory at Reims and Avus as well as a second place finish at the Nürburgring against purpose built single seaters. In 1959 Porsche built four special RSKs for customers that could be easily converted to single seater specification. Encouraged by the success, Porsche built a dedicated single seater for the 1960 season. This Type 787 was still clearly related to the 718 and scored numerous wins. << Prev Page 2 of 3 Next >>
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For the 1957 season all eyes were back on the chassis and body once more. Following the lines of the experimental low-drag 'Mickey Mouse' spyder a new body design was penned. It was both lower and smoother than that of its predecessors. Under the aluminium body there were several more detail changes. The front trailing arms were relocated to improve the suspension dynamics; the camber of the front wheels would now increase as the wheels moved upwards. The changes required the steering box to be mounted in the middle of the car. The much lower front frame resembled the letter K if looked at from the front and the new version was commonly referred to as the 'RSK'. The internal name for the new car was the Type 718.