Bergspyder

Porsche has been most keen to take on just about any type of racing series. This includes hillclimbs. Recently you can see some heavily modified Porsche 911s racing up Pikes Peak and even trying to set production car records (if only the weather would hold out).

Looking back at Porsche's history in the 60s, they were doing quite well in giving Ferrari some real competition. In the european hillclimb circuit, Porsche was dominating. Ever willing to push the limits, they took Lotus's mantra of "simplify and add lightness" to the extreme.

Enter the Porsche 909 Bergspyder.

This car was about as light as you can get. It weighed 324kg.... wet. The thin fiberglass body weighed all of 10kg. Pushing everything to the extreme, it didn't even have a fuel pump - instead opting for a pressurized bladder inside the spherical titanium fuel tank to push fuel to the engine. It took on the ethos of rocketry: If it's not needed, get rid of it. If it is, make it lighter.

Using the same 2-liter flat-8 out of many of its cars at the time (718, 904, 906, 907, 910) it had an incredible power-to-weight ratio with only 270 hp. It also had a ridiculously square wheelbase.

When the Bugatti Veyron came out, it was the harbinger of speed. It pushed everything. It had a ridiculous 2.5s to 60mph. The 909? 2.4 seconds. In 1968. In a car almost 1/3rd the weight of a tiny BMW 2002. Insanity.

Despite these obvious advantages in numbers, the 909 did not fair well in competition. It received some second and third place finishes, but the older 910 was still more successful and eventually Ferrari started taking its lunch with the 212E.

Porsche decided to start focusing more on endurance racing now with the 917 becoming quite successful and its hillclimb program lost steam. Still, the 909 Bergspyder left its mark on what it really meant to push the boundaries of lightness.

Porsche recently restored the 1:1 version of this car and it is now on display at the Porsche museum. Only 1 909 Bergspyder is left in existence.

This specific car is a 1/18 sealed resin model from Tecnomodel. As with most resin models you get excellent body lines. Some mold lines are still visible, however, on some of the other parts on the car and it's a little lacking (those tires...).

Still it's an excellent example of the car and I'm not aware of any other company that makes it. Tecnomodel is definitely known for making more obscure vehicles.

Do you love random Porsche, hillclimb, or general racing history? If so then I recommend grabbing. If not, you won't miss this niche example.

Some final photos:

Man it feels good to break off the rust and write another article on LaLD.

Cheers!