![]() James Dean’s friends told him the car had ‘trouble’ written all over it when they first saw it, which no doubt only added to its appeal. He gave it the nickname, ‘Little Bastard’. In the last year of his life he bought a rare Silver Porsche Spyder, one of only ninety built that year. James Dean always had a ready repost or putdown: when told he was too short to be an actor, he asked: “How can you measure acting in inches?” Today it’s called attitude.įilm success brought James Dean comparative wealth, enabling him to live his dream-driving cars, fast. We are all impaled on the crook of conditioning,” he said. What popularised James Dean in the eyes of his many fans was his non-conformist stance and his particular resentment towards any form of authority: “There is no way to be truly great in this world. Much later, Elizabeth Taylor revealed that James Dean had told her ‘Jimmy’ had been sexually abused by a minister, following his mother’s death. His mother died when Dean was aged nine, in high school his academic record was unimpressive although in sports he excelled then, resulting from his move towards acting and drama school, he fell out with his father. James Dean’s teen years suggest he was well fitted out in real life for the film roles he played. In each film James Dean took the starring role. Live as if you’ll die today”-James Dean’s own words have become his epitaph, and those who knew Dean say that he kept his word.įamous for his roles in just three films, all filmed in the last year of his life, Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden, and Giant (released posthumously, 1956), James Dean played with natural swagger the wayward, angry teenager, the loner, and, finally, the sour and surly ranch hand. ![]() It was September 30, 1955, James Dean was just twenty-four and his untimely end cemented his image as the king of cool and the icon of teenage disillusionment. James Dean died on a California highway near Paso Robles when his speeding Porsche Spyder crashed head-on with an approaching vehicle. “We were certified sports-car nuts,” wrote John Jerome nostalgically, “and we needed something to believe in.” The Spyder kept the faith.The 50th anniversary of Porsche’s iconic 911 car brings us a timely reminder of James Dean and his passion for his Porsche 550 Spyder. Demanding to be driven well, these Porsches provided intensive course work for an entire generation of drivers who graduated from Spyders to stardom: von Trips, von Frankenburg, Barth, Moss, Bonnier, Behra, Gendebien, Ginther, Gurney, Holbert, Jennings, Gregory, Penske. “The greatest long-distance racer in the world” was Ken Miles’ assessment of the Spyder. The 1.5-liter Spyder won the Targa Florio outright, defeating a trio of 3.5 Ferraris, three 300SL Mercedes and a gaggle of Maseratis. ![]() But for sheer audacity it didn’t compare with the trip to Sicily in 1956 for which Porsche racing director Huschke von Hanstein took just one 550A, driver Maglioli and two mechanics. Spyder man Ken Miles said the difference was “almost unbelievable.” Still, if the predecessor 550 confused drivers in a turn (one couldn’t be sure where the car would end up) and the successor RSK scared them to death (the tail breaking away viciously without warning), winning remained a constant with all Spyders.Ĭlass victories for the 550A were so commonplace they don’t bear mention – except perhaps for the last Mille Miglia in 1957 where Umberto Maglioli’s 88.31 mph average, 5th overall and 1st in class was Porsche’s best ever in that Italian classic. But impeccable handling was the 550A’s long suit. These benefits in turn permitted another 60 pounds to be taken off the all aluminum body – all of which made a considerably faster car. Chassis weight was cut by up to 95 pounds and rigidity increased. But whereas the 550 had a ladder chassis, the 550A had a space frame, which made a huge difference. Ernest Fuhrmann-designed air-cooled flat four that combined gear and shaft driven double overhead cams, roller bearing crankshaft, twin ignition, dry sump lubrication – and which, to the cognoscenti, was already approaching legendary status. The 550A carried on the Giant Killer image begun by the 550, but did so with better manners. Despite its designation, this Spyder was a brand-new model.
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