James Dean’s Spyder

In 1955, James Dean was swiftly establishing himself as Hollywood’s brightest young star. By September of 1955, the cult hero was busy filming his latest movie ‘Giant’, following the successful production of ‘Rebel Without a Cause’. However, Dean’s attention had been grabbed by the exhilaration of racing Porsches. Sadly, Dean never took to the grid in his Porsche Spyder. 

James Dean’s all too brief motor racing journey began at the Palm Springs road races, in March 1955. Although this would be a club meeting, a few blockbuster names adorned the entry list. One such entrant was Ford GT driver-engineer, Ken Miles, driving an MG. Dean danced his new Porsche 356 Super Speedster through the field to win the preliminary race convincingly. In doing so, Dean qualified for the main event. News of Dean’s racing debut spread throughout Hollywood in no time. After all, James Dean was the name on everyone’s lips. 

After a successful second race meeting at Bakersfield, the Hollywood star was bitten by the same bug which injects its venom into so many amateur racers. A mechanical failure at Santa Barbara provided added temptation to upgrade from his Porsche 356 Super Speedster. Porsche’s latest model - the 550 Spyder - had arrived in the United States to immediate success. Hollywood VW and Porsche dealer, Johnny von Neumann, had won at Bakersfield in the mid-engine racer with James Dean present. Naturally, the 550 Spyder was top of the wish list for ‘Jimmy’. However, Porsche’s 550 Spyders were in hot demand and scarce supply. A car wouldn’t be available for six months, even for a Hollywood film star. 

Exuding the typical impatience of a racer, Dean went elsewhere. Conveniently, a Lotus dealership sat across the street from Warner Bros. in Burbank. Keen to progress his racing ambitions, ‘Jimmy’ placed an order for a Lotus Mark Nine. Dean’s new chassis would be built at 7 Tottenham Lane, Hornsey, London, but the engine would be sourced locally. Built by Meyer-Drake in Los Angeles, Offenhauser engines were revered and remain the most successful motor in Indy 500 history. In a few months, Dean looked set to take delivery of his ‘Lotus-Offy’. 

However, Colin Chapman’s embryonic firm ran behind schedule and Dean cancelled the order for his Lotus Mark Nine. Meanwhile, a close friend spotted a Porsche 550 Spyder at Competition Motors in Hollywood, where Dean acquired his Porsche Speedster. Dean hurriedly enquired about upgrading to Porsche’s latest racer. Yet, von Neumann initially refused to sell the Spyder to the keen as mustard novice racer. 

Less than ninety 550 Spyders were built at Zuffenhausen and Porsche insisted the cars went to suitable clients. Not only were Porsche terrified of their latest masterpieces being burrowed away in collections, they also wanted the Spyders to be sold to the best drivers. Sporting success has always been paramount to the German firm.

Eventually, von Neumann relented and sold the 110 horsepower 550 Spyder to Dean for $6800, taking the actor’s 70 horsepower Super Speedster as part exchange. von Neumann surmised that the marketable benefit of Dean running around Hollywood in the Spyder, outweighed his lack of racing 

experience. To ensure the thoroughbred Spyder was tended to correctly, Porsche factory trained mechanic Rolf Wutherich would travel to all of Dean’s races. 

In the days after collecting the exotic Spyder, Dean took drives with friends and arrived for dinner at his favourite restaurant, the Villa Capri, in his new pride and joy. This Hollywood superstar shared the same elation and thrill that any car enthusiast experiences upon acquiring a new machine

Dean planned to debut the Spyder at the Salinas road races, ten days after taking delivery. On the roads in and around Hollywood, Dean sped around ‘breaking in’ his new car, preparing for the race. Prior to the three-hundred-mile journey to Salinas, the Spyder would be painstakingly serviced by Rolf Wutherich, to the letter of the Porsche workshop manual. 

Adding the finishing touches to the race preparation, Wutherich affixed a badge to the left flank of the flyweight racer. Wutherich received the badge while working at the 1954 Nurburgring 1000km race and wished for Dean to have it, as a symbol of their friendship. Instead of hauling the Spyder behind his Ford station wagon, Dean would drive the Spyder to Salinas and acclimatise to the car’s exceptional performance. 

On the Friday afternoon before the Salinas races, Dean and Wutherich set off from Hollywood. Keen to explore the capabilities of his latest acquisition, Dean let the air cooled, boxer engine roar. Along the way, the American cultural icon and modest German mechanic stopped regularly, allowing the rest of the party to catch up in Dean’s Ford station wagon. As Dean’s confidence in the aluminium bodied Spyder grew, the concern from his companions escalated. At every stop, the young rebel’s inner circle urged him to calm down and save the speed for the race the next day

Sadly, this tale is all too familiar. ‘Overconfident young man suffers tragic death at wheel of sports car’. The headline writes itself. As the sun began to set behind the Californian hills, James Dean’s Porsche Spyder collided with a Ford Coupe attempting to cross a junction. Both Rolf Wutherich and the driver of the Ford survived the horrific accident. Tragically, Dean wasn’t so lucky and passed away at the age of just twenty-four. 

When a famous personality is involved in a fatal accident, impartiality is so difficult to maintain. For some, their hero could do no wrong. Others can’t temper their envy of the rich and famous. James Dean’s tragic accident on highway 466, on the 30th of September 1955, continues to be debated to 

this day. Endless conjecture, guesswork and even fabrication of events will always run wild when a personality like Dean is lost. 

For nine magic days, a young star with the world at his feet, revelled in the joy of driving his four-cam, open top racer. Although Dean’s time with the 550 was devastatingly short, it will remain an essential chapter in the legend of the Porsche Spyder. 

Since James Dean’s tragic loss, several Hollywood movie stars have gone on to race Porsches in their spare time. Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and Patrick Dempsey have all raced, and won, in cars adorning the Wuttemberg coat of arms.