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A German Formula One driver once drove a Porsche 550 Spyder underneath a closed railway crossing gate during a race, without slowing down. That is how low the car sat, and part of why a 1,498cc four-cylinder could humiliate machinery with twice the displacement. Then James Dean bought chassis number 55, had a name painted on the trunk lid, and turned a race car into something else entirely. Read on for the whole story.
This replica sounds fantastic, but the original 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder it’s copying has a story darker than any muscle car legend. James Dean owned his for nine days before it killed him, and the wreckage that survived went missing decades ago despite a standing million-dollar reward. Here’s the real history behind the car everyone still calls ‘Little Bastard.’
James Dean died behind the wheel of a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder nicknamed the “Little Bastard,” a car that vanished so completely after a string of bizarre incidents that a million-dollar reward has never brought it back. Historians still argue over how much of the wreck’s dark legend is even true. Read on to find out what actually happened on Route 46, and why the car’s disappearance still hasn’t been solved.