Porsche 550 Spyder

Information

This car has the nickname of 'Little Bastard,' which comes from the many tragic events that surround the car, starting with the death of American actor James Dean in 1955. While driving to participate in a race, he collided with a car on a highway in Shandon, California. Dean was with German Porsche mechanic Rolf Wütherich, who survived with significant injuries. Later, Wütherich was killed in a car crash in 1981 while driving drunk.

A week before the accident, James Dean met with British actor Alec Guinness, who told him to not drive the car. Guinness later wrote in his diary: The sports car looked sinister to me . . . exhausted, hungry, feeling a little ill-tempered in spite of Dean’s kindness, I heard myself saying in a voice I could hardly recognise as my own: ‘Please never get in it. . .  if you get in that car you will be found dead in it by this time next week.’

Shortly after the accident, mechanic George Barris bought the car for $2,500 to repair it, even though he was told that Dean died in the car. After purchasing it, a rope on a crane transporting the car broke, leading to the car falling on the leg of a mechanic. George Barris gave up the idea of ​​​​repairing the car and decided to sell it for parts to recover his money and get rid of it. He quickly sells the engine and the transmission to two people.

Engine and transmission:
The engine was installed in a Lotus and the transmission in a Porsche. The two cars with parts from Dean’s 550 Spyder participated in the same race, and the Lotus powered by the Dean’s engine crashed into a tree, killing the driver. It was allegedly the first time the engine was used after Dean’s crash. The Porsche using the transmission rolled over, injuring the driver. However, other sources say that the Porsche that rolled over was actually using suspension parts from Dean’s car, not the transmission.

Tires:
2 of the tires from the 'Little Bastard' were sold to a person in New York. He was going to use the tires in a race but they were never used because while he was transporting the tires, the pickup truck he was driving lost control and he crashed, killing him instantly.

During this time, the chassis remained in the workshop of George Barris, who said that he heard strange noises from the car, in addition to seeing shadows in the workshop that stared at the car and moaned.

Shortly after, a police department rented the crashed chassis to show it at schools and events to raise awareness among young people about the consequences of driving at excessive speed. A few years later, while the car was displayed on a stage, it fell on top of a student and broke his hips and legs.

After the incident, the car was put into storage in a warehouse in Fresno, California. While in storage, the car caught fire and the only thing that survived was the 'Little Bastard'. After this, the car was immediately returned to its original owner, George Barris. However, a Fresno newspaper reported that the fire happened a day before Barris claimed, and the fire only slightly damaged the 550 Spyder and no other cars.

Later, while Barris still had the car stored, two people entered the warehouse wanting to steal parts off the car. One of the thieves allegedly lost his hand while attempting to flee through a window.

After this, several buyers of paranormal items showed interest in buying parts of the car, but Barris wanted to get rid of the car once and for all, and he decided to sell everything to just one buyer.

After everything, the car was left in a junkyard, and several people took different parts of the car, such as the axle, differential, gear lever, and other parts. Several people and museums claim to have authentic parts of Dean’s 550 Spyder, but none of these pieces have been confirmed, and rewards for the proof of ownership of original parts have not been claimed. The engine and California Owner's Registration are owned by the family of the man who purchased the engine for his Lotus. The transaxle assembly is owned by a Porsche collector in Massachusetts.