Inspired by the Porsche 356, the 550 Spyder has a special aura around it. Part of this aura happens to be the nickname bestowed upon it,the "Giant Killer," the car took the life of the great James Dean in a fatal car accident. Instead of the public being dragged away from its interest, this just happened to add to the allure that the Porsche had.  The Spyder brought Porsche its first win in many major sports racing events, with the 24 hours of Le Mans being one, and another being the Carrera Panamamericana, which is synonymous with the Porsche label. Being one of Porsches first post-World War II cars, it helped build the label we know to respect today.