A real-life vehicle that is rumored to be haunted or cursed is the 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, a sleek, silver car that famous actor James Dean was killed in.
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James Dean bought his Porsche from where?
James Dean bought a secondhand red 1953 MG TD sports car and a 1955 Triumph Tiger T110 650 cc motorbike in April 1954 after landing the co-starring part of Cal Trask in East of Eden. Dean swapped in the MG in March 1955 for a brand-new 1955 Porsche Speedster that he had bought from Competition Motors in Hollywood, California. The Triumph T110 was exchanged for a 1955 Triumph TR5 Trophy three days after East of Eden’s filming was over. On March 26-27, Dean participated in the Palm Springs Road Races with the Speedster just before Rebel Without a Cause began filming. He came in first overall in the novice class on Saturday and second overall in the championship race on Sunday. On May 1-2, Dean also competed in a Speedster race in Bakersfield, coming in first place in his class and third overall. On Memorial Day, May 30, he competed in his final race with the Speedster at Santa Barbara. He began from position 18 and advanced to position 4 before over-revving his engine and blowing a piston. He failed to complete the race.
Warner Brothers had forbidden Dean from participating in any racing events while Giant was being filmed from June to mid-September. Dean placed a down payment with Jay Chamberlain, a dealer in Burbank, in July for a brand-new Lotus Mark IX sports racer. The delivery of the Lotus will not happen until the fall, Dean was informed. Dean unexpectedly traded in his Speedster at Competition Motors on September 21 as he was finishing Giant for a brand-new, more potent, and quicker 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder and entered the forthcoming Salinas Road Race competition set for October 1-2. In addition, he bought a brand-new 1955 Ford Country Squire station wagon to be used for transporting the “Little Bastard” on an open-wheel vehicle trailer to and from the races.: 101–102
James Dean requested that pinstriper and custom car painter Dean Jeffries paint “Little Bastard” on the vehicle, according to Porsche historian Lee Raskin, author of James Dean: At Speed.
The customization work was completed by Dean Jeffries, who operated a paint business adjacent to [George] Barris. It involved painting the number “130” in black non-permanent paint on the front hood, doors, and rear deck lid. On the rear cowling, he additionally painted the word “Little Bastard” in script. The crimson tail stripes and red leather bucket seats were original. The Stuttgart factory painted the tail stripes, as was common on the Spyders for racing identification.
Dean allegedly received the moniker “Little Bastard” from Warner Bros. stunt driver Bill Hickman, who he became friends with. On September 30, 1955, Hickman traveled with Dean’s group to the Salinas Road Races. According to Hickman, Dean called him a “small bastard” and he in turn called him a “big bastard.” Another origin story for the nickname “Little Bastard” claims that Dean was once called a “little bastard” by Warner Bros. president Jack L. Warner for refusing to leave his East of Eden trailer on the studio’s property. This story is supported by two of Dean’s close friends, Phil Stern and Lew Bracker. In addition, Dean sought to express defiance in the face of the racing ban during all filming by christening his race vehicle “Little Bastard” and declaring that he would race it when he had time in between jobs.: 106
Where did James Dean’s Porsche 550 go?
On September 30, 1955, while traveling to a race meeting in his “Little Bastard” Porsche 550 Spyder, James Dean’s career as a racing driver and actor was cruelly ended.
What was the selling price of James Dean’s Porsche?
One of the most important pieces of James Dean’s “curse” Porsche has been dismantled for components, and Zak Bagans, who paid a fortune for it, now has it in his possession.
The deceased actor’s 4-speed transaxle, which was a component of the Porsche 550 Spyder Dean was operating when he crashed and perished in 1955, was just sold at auction for a stunning $382,000, but the successful bidder was unknown up until this point.
We now know that Zak bought it, which makes perfect sense given his penchant for gathering the most gruesome artifacts on the planet.
James’ accident has a LOT of occult history attached to it, not to mention what happened after his death with the subsequent reselling and reuse of various parts from the vehicle James was driving on that fateful night.
To cut a long tale short, some of those parts were refurbished or recycled and later contributed to additional disasters throughout the years, including one that claimed the life of another man when he crashed into a tree.
The axle, which was purchased by a different private owner in 2020 before being advertised once more this year, was mounted on a steel exhibition platform with casters, maybe to demonstrate that it might still be usable.
It has a magnesium housing with room for a differential gear, a reverse gear, and four forward gears. The swing-axle tubes, aluminum drum brake assemblies, a starting motor, a hydraulically operated clutch release lever, and axle display are also included. Fantastic, if you don’t believe in curses!
What’s left of JD’s Porsche, known as “Little Bastard,” according to Zak, will be displayed at his haunted museum in Nevada.
If so, where is James Dean’s Porsche?
NEW YORK Part of James Dean’s Porsche 550 Spyder, which was involved in the infamous collision more than 65 years ago, is being auctioned off.
The original and entire transaxle assembly was discovered in a remote area of Massachusetts after spending more than 30 years hidden from view and kept in a wooden crate. This discovery was made last September and revealed by an East Coast Porsche collector.
The only verified and documented component of the James Dean Spyder that is still known to exist is maybe this assembly.
On September 30, 1955, a famous actor passes away close to Cholame, California. He wrecked while traveling to an auto racing competition.
While returning from a highway safety exhibit in 1960, the original body and chassis were reported stolen.
The transaxle is now out of the wooden crate and put in a specially made exhibition pedestal.
Which vehicles did James Dean drive?
- 1949 Ford. James Dean only owned one vehicle while he resided in Fairmount, Indiana: a 1949 Ford that his uncle Marcus Winslow purchased at the Fairmount Ford Dealership.
- Mercury Coupe from 1949.
- Rolls Royce from 1921
- 1953 MG.
- Porsche Super Speedster from 1955.
- Triumph TR5 from 1955
Why was there 130 on James Dean’s Porsche?
James Dean was a rising celebrity with a tough persona who was always the outsider no matter where he went. Even after becoming well-known in movies, he did not enjoy acting. His love for acting was overshadowed by his passion for automobiles, racing, and motorsport. James eventually saved all his money from the movies he had acted in and bought the Porsche 550, which quickly rose to the top of the racing world because to its speed and agility. To indicate that it wasn’t a standard 550 Spyder, James soon had the number 130 painted over the bonnet and doors. He had Dean’s friend’s nickname, Little Bastard, painted on the rear cowl to give it a more unique touch.
He encountered British actor Sir Alec Guinness outside a restaurant while driving through Los Angeles on the same day. James couldn’t wait to brag to his friend about his newest buy. He was still surprised when superstitious Alec cautioned James about the car, but Dean ignored Alec’s words and laughed. In an interview with the BBC, Alec talks about meeting James Dean and shares with the interviewer how he urged Dean not to get in the Porsche 550 when he first saw it (the 550). He wouldn’t be living the following week if he did. Dean didn’t give a damn what Alec Guinness said to him because he had a “devil may care” mentality.
How did James Dean drive his car?
Actor James Dean, 24, is murdered in Cholame, California, at 5:45 PM on September 30, 1955, when the Porsche he is operating collides with a Ford Tudor car at an intersection. While Dean’s passenger, German Porsche mechanic Rolf Wutherich, suffered severe injuries but lived, the second car’s driver, 23-year-old California Polytechnic State University student Donald Turnupseed, was mainly unharmed but left bewildered. Only one of Dean’s films, “East of Eden,” had been released at the time of his passing; “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Giant” came out soon after; however, he was on the verge of celebrity when he died, and the crash cemented his place in history.
James Dean loved racing automobiles, and he was actually traveling to a race in Salinas, 90 miles south of San Francisco, in his brand-new, $7000 Porsche Spyder convertible. Witnesses insisted that Dean wasn’t speeding at the time of the collision because Turnupseed had made a left turn directly into the path of the Spyder. However, some people have noted that Dean must have been traveling at an alarmingly high speed because he had received a speeding ticket in Bakersfield, 84 miles away from the crash site, at 3:30 p.m. and had stopped at a diner for a Coke. This indicated that he had traveled a No matter how fast the Porsche was traveling, Turnupseed would not have been able to notice it coming due to the advancing dusk and the sun’s glare.
There is a rumor that Dean’s vehicle, the Little Bastard, was cursed. After the collision, a nearby mechanic’s legs were crushed as the car rolled off the back of a truck. Later, after a used-car dealer sold its components to buyers across the nation, the odd occurrences increased: the car’s engine, transmission, and tires were all installed in vehicles that were later involved in fatal collisions, and a truck transporting the Spyder’s chassis to a highway-safety exhibition skidded off the road, killing its driver. The car’s wreckage disappeared from the scene of the collision and hasn’t been seen again.
Wutherich attempted suicide twice in the 1960s due to ongoing guilt over the vehicle tragedy. In a failed murder-suicide attempt in 1967, he stabbed his wife 14 times with a kitchen knife. Wutherich passed away in an alcohol-related car accident in 1981. Turnupseed passed away in 1995 from lung cancer.
What is the value of James Dean’s car?
The Porsche 550 Spyder’s transaxle that was rescued from James Dean’s car finds a new owner. The object salvaged from the movie star’s final vehicle recently appeared on Bring a Trailer, where it was astonishingly sold for $382,000, which is equal to the price of a brand-new Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet and 911 GT3 combined.
The transaxle won’t be used to power one of the few current Porsche 550 Spyders still in existence, despite its original usage as a gearbox. Instead, the component will serve as a display piece in a museum that will chronicle Little Bastard’s terrible past.
It was immediately clear to enthusiasts that the Porsche 550 Spyder transaxle would fetch a fairly astounding price when it initially appeared on Bring a Trailer. The winning bidder stated that it was bought for a Las Vegas museum, not for use in another car, after the hammer fell.
Zak Bagans, a documentary filmmaker and paranormal investigator who was frequently featured on The Travel Channel in the middle of the 2010s, ended up being the successful bidder. He also happens to be the owner of Zak Bagans’ famed The Haunted Museum in Las Vegas, which attracts visitors by showcasing rare occult artifacts. The transaxle will now be displayed at the horror-themed museum with other notorious vehicles including David Koresh’s 1968 Chevrolet Camaro and Jack Kevorkian’s 1968 Volkswagen Transporter van.
As a collector of the macabre and haunted, Bagans said, “To own the only known piece of what’s arguably the most renowned cursed artifact in the world and be able to show it at The Haunted Museum for all to see is like hitting gold.” I’ve been fascinated with the “Little Bastard” curse for years, so when I learned that the real transaxle was up for auction, I nearly passed out.
Bagans claimed that although he had no idea how much the allegedly cursed artifact would fetch at auction, he was certain that he would win the bid.
When George Barris still possessed the original 550 Spyder, it was engaged in a barn fire, crushed a transport truck driver, and apparently once fell off its stand and injured a high school student. Even the tires from the wreckage were allegedly sold off and had a blowout at the same time.
James Dean’s Porsche 550 Spyder is regarded by many, including Bagans, as cursed. But even if the gearbox may never participate in another race, it will undoubtedly live on in legend and may even serve as inspiration for future car aficionados along the way, making Bagans’ museum the finest conceivable home for it.