James Dean and 'Little Bastard'

While thinking of the Porsche 550 Spyder, the first thing that triggers in our mind is James Dean. (Although in a death wish kind of way.) James Dean’s death in 1955 made the Porsche 550 Spyder infamous as the car that killed him. While being the stopping ground for Dean as he waited for another car, this was not even the car he was after. The stories about the curse of James Dean’s Porsche are downright scary and daring to read them requires tremendous courage!

James Dean in the car.

While shooting for Rebel Without A Cause, James Dean decided to upgrade from the 356 to the 550 Spyder and wanted to make this car uniquely his. Dean called upon George Barris, of movie car fame, to customize the Porsche to suit his taste. He gave it tartan seats and two red stripes over the rear wheels. He plastered the number ‘130’ on its doors, hood and engine cover. He named this car “Little Bastard”, what his language coach, Bill Hickman, liked calling him. He later got the name painted on the car by master pinstriper, Dean Jeffries.

On the 23^rd day of September in 1955, Dean met one of his actor friends, Alec Guinness, outside of a restaurant to let him have a look at his car. The deeply superstitious Guinness warned Dean of the car’s “sinister” appearance and went on to tell Dean: “If you get in that car, you will be found dead in it by this time next week.” Dean’s current girlfriend, Ursula Andress, refused to even get in the car because of the car’s deathly aura. Even George Barris said that the car gave off a feeling of impending doom. Dean brushed it all off by saying, “I am destined to die in a speeding car.” 

Exactly seven days later, at 5:59 pm, Dean met with a terrible accident in his beloved “Little Bastard” and died soon after. The “Little Bastard” was mangled and nearly torn and looked like, some said, “a crumpled pack of cigarettes.” That “Little Bastard” not only killed James Dean, but killed and maimed others who encountered it, led to many saying that the damn thing was cursed. The wrecked carcass of the “Little Bastard” was then bought for $2500 by George Barris with the likely intent of selling tickets to look at it . Soon after this purchase, the car slipped off its trailer and broke a mechanic’s leg. Soon enough, Barris sold the engine and drive train to Troy McHenry and WilliamEschrid. While the two were both racing against one another, on October 21^st, 1956, in cars that had parts from the “Little Bastard,” McHenry lost control and hit a tree and got killed instantly, and Eschrid was seriously injured when his car suddenly locked up and rolled over, while going into a turn. The two tires from the 550, which remained untouched in Dean’s accident, sold by Barris, both blew out simultaneously, causing the owner’s car to run off the road. The car, without its sold parts, was in Barris’ possession when two thieves, souvenir seekers to be precise, tried to steal it. One of the thieves’ arms was torn open trying to steal the steering wheel while the other was injured while attempting to remove the bloodstained tartan seat.

Dean and the Porsche

Following all the incidents involving the “Little Bastard,” Barris decided to hide the car away, but was convinced by the California Highway Patrol to lend the cursed heap to a highway safety exhibit. The garage that housed the car for the first exhibit, caught fire and burned to the ground. Though, mysteriously, the car virtually suffered no damage from the fire. The next exhibition at a local high school ended abruptly when the car fell off its display and broke a nearby student’s hip. The cursed “Little Bastard” was being transported, when the truck carrying the car lost control, caused the driver to fall out and somehow get crushed by the car after it fell off the back. After that, the car fell off of two more transport trucks while travelling on the freeway, fortunately, not injuring anyone. In 1959, the Porsche was on display in New Orleans, when it just fell apart into 11 pieces.

On having had enough of the notorious Little Bastard, the California Highway Police decided to return it to Barris only to have mysteriously lost it in transit.

The car hasn’t been spotted ever since.

-Tanisha Rathi