There is no evidence that James Dean’s Porsche was cursed. The car was a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, chassis 550-0055, nicknamed “Little Bastard.” Dean died in it after a collision in 1955; parts were salvaged and later linked to another fatal crash, while stories promoted after the wreck grew into a curse legend. The original car’s shell has never been located in the sources reviewed.
What was James Dean’s “cursed car”?
It was a silver Porsche 550 Spyder, a lightweight sports-racing car identified in the Type 550 chassis record as 550-0055. The record describes a red interior and darts on the rear fenders. Dean took delivery on September 21, 1955, and had owned it for nine days when it crashed. Type 550’s chassis history traces the car’s specifications and reported history.
Dean had the number 130 and the name “Little Bastard” painted on it by signwriter Dean Jeffries. The story commonly told is that studio head Jack Warner used the nickname after Dean refused to leave a temporary trailer. That anecdote is reported history, not a verified direct quotation. Type 550 recounts the account.
What happened in the crash?
On September 30, 1955, Dean and mechanic Rolf Wütherich were driving toward the Salinas races when the Porsche collided with a Ford driven by Donald Turnupseed near Cholame, California. Dean died; Wütherich survived with injuries. Type 550 and Hagerty’s account of the car describe the collision and its aftermath.
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Accounts differ on the precise crash mechanics, visibility and speed. The available sources do not justify presenting a specific speed or a single definitive forensic explanation as settled fact. TIME published a photograph of Dean at the scene on the day of the crash and provides basic context about his death: TIME’s account and photograph.
Why did people call the Porsche cursed?
The strongest link behind the legend is the later death of racer Troy McHenry. After the wreck, physician William Eschrich acquired it from the insurer, installed its Porsche engine in a Lotus IX and retained other mechanical parts. Hagerty reports that Eschrich loaned transmission and suspension parts to McHenry, who died in a 1956 crash at Pomona. Accounts differ about the custody of the parts and which components went into which car, so the precise mechanical chain is not firmly established. Type 550 and Hagerty describe the salvage and racing connection.
A later fatal accident involving a racer and parts attributed to Dean’s car is a grim coincidence, not evidence that the Porsche caused a crash or that supernatural forces were involved. Other tales—of a fatal transport accident, a fire, people injured by the car, or its disappearance from a sealed railcar—are variously reported as rumor, unconfirmed or disputed in the accounts consulted.
How George Barris shaped the curse story
Custom-car builder George Barris displayed a damaged Spyder as part of safety demonstrations. What the display car actually was remains disputed: Type 550 describes a body reconstructed with bent aluminum on a damaged frame, while Motor Sport reports that Porsche historian Lee Raskin believed the display was partly fabricated and that Barris did not acquire the original wreck as he claimed. It is more accurate to describe a disputed reconstruction and display history than to say the intact original was toured. Type 550 and Motor Sport’s account, including Raskin’s assessment, lay out the competing claims.
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Motor Sport quotes Barris’s memoir: “Everything that car has touched has turned to tragedy.” It is Barris’s dramatic claim, not proof of a curse. In the same article, Raskin says, “Was he a great driver? No.” That remark assesses Dean’s driving; it is not a statement about supernatural causes.
The stories associated with Barris are not all reliable. Type 550 calls many curse tales unfounded; Hagerty marks several as unconfirmed; and Motor Sport reports Raskin’s view that many of Barris’s stories were fabricated, with some demonstrably false. The legend is best understood as a real tragedy, a later accident linked to salvaged components, and claims repeated and amplified over time.
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- By Chris Corbould (Author)
- 312 Pages
- Over 150 Illustrations
- Hardcover
- Imported
Where is the original Little Bastard Porsche now?
The original car’s shell has not been recovered, and its whereabouts are unknown. The sources describe it as disappearing during the safety-tour display history, but the disputed identity of the displayed car makes it unsafe to treat every story about that tour as a verified account of the original wreck. Type 550 says the shell disappeared during the tour; a 2008 Heritage announcement also said it had never been recovered.
A Porsche replica was built for the 1997 television movie about Dean. It is a recreation, not the missing original. Modern replicas, film props and objects described as fragments should not be mistaken for the car itself; the 2008 announcement documents the movie replica but does not establish current retail availability. Heritage’s announcement covers that recreation.
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- Beautifully matted collectors photo presentation, handmade in the USA
- Collage contains an 8" x 10" photo, additional 3" x 5" photo and a biography
- All photos and bio are bevel-cut and double matted under glass
- Comes framed in a beautifully sculpted black lacquered frame ready for hanging
- Extra care is given to packing and shipping to revert glass and/or frame damage
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