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James Dean’s “cursed car” was a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder nicknamed Little Bastard. Dean died in it after a collision on September 30, 1955; some of its parts were later reused, and a racer who used components attributed to the Porsche also died in a crash. Those events helped create the curse story, but the available accounts do not establish supernatural causation. The car’s post-crash display history is disputed, and the original shell has never been located in the sources cited here.
What was James Dean’s “Little Bastard” Porsche?
Dean’s car was a silver Porsche 550 Spyder, chassis 550-0055, with a red interior and darts painted on its rear fenders. The Type 550 history says it was delivered on September 21, 1955, and Dean had owned it for nine days when he crashed. Dean Jeffries, a signwriter, painted the number 130 and the nickname “Little Bastard” on it. The same account links the nickname to a reported remark by studio head Jack Warner after Dean refused to leave a temporary trailer; treat that anecdote as a reported explanation, not a verified quotation. Type 550’s chassis history
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. Accounts differ over the precise crash mechanics and conditions, so a specific speed or definitive reconstruction should not be treated as settled. Type 550; Hagerty; Motor Sport
Why did people call the car cursed?
The most compelling part of the legend is a real, tragic sequence involving salvaged components. Physician William Eschrich bought the wreck from the insurer, used the Porsche engine in his Lotus IX, and kept other mechanical pieces as spares, according to Type 550. Hagerty says Eschrich loaned transmission and suspension components to racer Troy McHenry, who died in a 1956 crash at Pomona. Accounts differ about custody and which parts went into which cars, so the exact chain of components is not consistent across sources. Type 550; Hagerty
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A component’s association with a later fatal crash does not show that it caused the crash, much less that the Porsche was cursed. Other stories attached to the car include a fatal transport accident, a fire, injuries to bystanders, and the car disappearing from a sealed railcar. The reviewed accounts variously describe such tales as rumored, unconfirmed, or disputed; they are not a sound basis for treating the curse as fact. Type 550; Hagerty; Motor Sport
How did George Barris shape the story?
Custom-car builder George Barris displayed a damaged Spyder during safety demonstrations, helping keep the car—and its supposed curse—in the public eye. But accounts conflict over whether that display vehicle was the original wreck. Type 550 describes a body reconstructed with bent aluminum on a damaged frame. Motor Sport reports Porsche historian Lee Raskin’s view that the display car was partly fabricated and that Barris did not acquire the original wreck as he claimed. The display’s identity and construction should therefore be described as disputed, not as a confirmed intact original.
Motor Sport quotes Barris’s memoir: “Everything that car has touched has turned to tragedy.” That line captures the legend’s tone, but it is Barris’s claim, not evidence of supernatural events. The article also quotes Raskin saying, “Was he a great driver? No.” Raskin was assessing Dean’s driving, not endorsing a curse. Motor Sport
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where is the original Porsche now?
The original wreck’s shell has not been located. Type 550 says it disappeared during the safety-tour period, and a 2008 Heritage Auctions announcement also said it had never been recovered. That is distinct from the 1997 television-movie replica documented by Heritage: a recreation is not the missing original, and neither a replica nor a purported fragment establishes where the wreck is. Type 550; Heritage Auctions
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What is fact, and what remains legend?
- Established: Dean drove a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, chassis 550-0055, nicknamed Little Bastard, and died in a collision while traveling toward Salinas on September 30, 1955.
- Established with limits: Mechanical parts were salvaged and reused; later accounts connect some components to McHenry’s car, but disagree on details of custody.
- Disputed: Whether the Spyder shown in Barris’s safety demonstrations was the original wreck or a reconstruction.
- Unlocated: The original shell; the 1997 movie replica is a separate vehicle.
- Not established: That the car or its parts caused subsequent accidents through anything supernatural.
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