James Dean was a legendary actor but one of his true passions was SCCA racing.
Realizing that Dean's passion for racing was a dangerous one and a risk to the film, Warner Brothers had stipulated that Dean take a break from motorsports until after the filming of the movie ‘Giant’ had concluded. In anticipation of his return to the track Dean had purchased a new 550 Spyder for competing in SCCA racing events. The car, chassis number 550-0055 was purchased from Competition Motors in Hollywood, California on September 21, 1955 and Deans racing number was applied to the car but the car never made it to the track. Just 9-days after buying the car, James Dean was killed in a traffic accident.
Another Southern California racer bought the wrecked car from Dean’s insurance company and parted the Porsche out. Every car that received parts from Dean’s car reportedly ended up wrecked and what was left of the car, basically a mangled body and a twisted frame, was shipped to Los Angeles in a sealed box car coming from Miami. The car never made it to its destination and since 1960 its whereabouts remains a mystery.
Almost 65-years after Dean’s death, a key component of his Porsche that was found in a sealed wooden crate in Massachusetts was reported to be up for public sale. While it is unclear how the complete transaxle assembly got there, it has been verified by Porsche to have come from chassis number 550-0055, or James Dean’s 550 Spyder. This rare piece of automotive history is now up for auction on Bring a Trailer. It was last acquired by its current owner, Don Ahearn from Islip, NY, in March of 2020 and is installed on a rolling steel display and is accompanied by a letter of verification and a case of file folders containing additional documents. Questions and inquiries should be directed to Marvin Waters, Auction agent for the owner swiftmotoring@gmail.com or James Dean Historian, Lee Raskin lmr356@aol.com.
