Spyder 550 550A

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[Porschinelle]

[Porschinelle]

[admin]

[Porschinelle]

You all know this car to day better than new

[Porschinelle]

But do you know the story of Jaroslav Juhan the Tchecoslavian pilot who made this car famous ?
For those who don't know here is this story
Jaroslav Juhan was born in Praha in 1921
Soon after the 2nd WW he raced VW cars in Tchecoslovaquia until he emigrated to Guatemala in 1949
He made a fortune their by importing and selling Italian cars
In 1953 he signed an agreement with Porsche to import Porsche cars into central America
He first bought a 356 Carrera GT and won several small races into Guatemala
Shortly afterward he bought 2 off 550 spyders that he entered into the 1953 Carrera Panamericana

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He was for a long time in a very good position (first in the 2 liter class) but had to retire following a broken engine
Encouraged by this first a

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Encouraged by Jaroslav Juhan performance Porsche decided to enter a strong team in the 1954 edition

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After 3077 kilometers of a furious fight Hans Hermann and Jaroslav Juhan finished the race first and 2nd in the 2 liter class only separated by 36 seconds
These victories made Porsche known all over the world and in return Porsche decided to named Carrera his sport models denomination who still exist to day
This same 1954 year

Jaroslav Juhan finished 4th overall and first in the 2 liter class in the Buenos Aires 100 km race

[Porschinelle]

Sorry I made a mistake the above pic represent Jaroslav Juhan at the 1955 Buenos Aires 1000 km but not in 1954 as said
Here jaroslav Juhan car in 1954

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Despite his race success Jaroslav Juhann never became professionnal pilot
He remain an "amateur" and was only racing to promote the sales of Porsche in South America
In 1955 he was invited by Porsche to race the 24 Le Mans race with Helm Glockler
They finished 6 th overall behind 2 other 550 spyders

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In 1961 the political situation in Guatemala became very instable and Jaroslav Juhan fortune made, decided to return to Europe
He settled in Switzerland where he died
Here sompe more pics of Jaroslav juhan at the wheel of a 550 spyder but I don't know where and when
May be Steve or Andrew knew ?

[JTR70]

Interesting an educational posts as always Gerard, Thank you!
Justin

[Porschinelle]

Hi Justin and all
I have reread what I wrote yesterday and found the following mistake
First Jaroslav Juhan Porsche race car was a not a 356 CarreraGT but one of the 11 Gmund aluminium GT similar to the one entered in the 1953 Carrera Panamericana by Jacqueline Evans whose nickname was Jacqueline never finish as she entrered many races but never suceeded to finish one