--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

$1M offered for James Dean death car
Museum offers payment for Porsche Spyder in which star died, if someone knows where it is.
August 30, 2005; Posted: 11:09 a.m. EDT (1509 GMT)


NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - An Illinois auto museum is offering $1 million for the car in which actor James Dean died in 1955. The car's whereabouts are currently unknown.

Dean crashed the 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder on Sept. 30, 1955 on a California highway. The badly wrecked car was purchased by car customizer George Barris, who created the customized 1949 Mercury that Dean drove in the movie, "Rebel Without a Cause."

Barris is famous for creating the Batmobile from the 1960s "Batman" TV series as well as the Munster Koach used in the series "The Munsters," and several other TV and movie cars.

Barris had also customized the Porsche for Dean, adding the number "130" and the nickname "Little Bastard" on the back of the car.

Barris sent the wrecked Porsche around the country as part of a police safety demonstration. The car disappeared shortly after one such demonstration in Florida.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dean's death, the Volo Auto Museum in Volo, Ill., is exhibiting artifacts from the crash including a passenger-side door from the car. The Museum says it will pay $1 million for the car, if someone will come forward to sell it.

To be eligible for the $1 million payment, the car will have to be authenticated by Barris, the museum said in an announcement.

The price would not be an unreasonable amount for a museum to pay for the car, said McKeel Hagerty, president of Hagerty Insurance a company that insures collectible cars.

Ordinarily, a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, in nearly pristine shape, would sell for about half as much, he said.

 

Anyone got pics of it?

 

Volo, not surprised they have all types of rare famous cars. ALthough I remember a show on discovery channel or TLC on this Porsche Spyder, also known as the black widow spyder because everyone who had anything to do with it was killed or mamed. I even recall them saying the car was parted out, and the scrap metal followed and the people who ended up getting the scrap all had horrible things happen to them or their family's. I swear the car was parted but can't remember how......

 

i've also heard the same thing.... like that spyder was always cursed and every person that has tried to restore it has died in a crash from it or something.

 

[IMG][/IMG]

 

i'm suprised it didn't fetch more

 

There's a lot of mystery behind the original wrecked car - the last time it was seen it was on it's way back to California I think - and dissapeared.

 

Super! I was wondering what I was going to do with this damn thing.

 

Pics of what? Read the article, they are offering to buy it if the owner comes forward.

 

Yeah that show I think was on Histories Mysteries. Talked about how he died in it, and it just left some crazy *** curse on everyone that had somethings to do with it. I dont think people died in the car (the Spyder) but they ended up in freak crashes in other cars.

 

Actually, the car was built by Barris' brother, not George as I understand it.

Not sure if Barris would be able to identify it anyway...he's getting older and more senile by the minute.

Anybody remember the Batmobile scandal at the Kruse auction a couple years back?

http://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=147

To quote the article:
"And the Batmobile, described thusly in the Kruse catalog: “1966 Batmobile. Purchased directly from the creator of this spectacular television series car, George Barris, this example has been fully restored and is ready for display or exhibition. One of the most recognized cars in the world! Includes Certificate of Authenticity from George Barris.�

Moore bought the car. With commissions and premiums, the price was about $190,000.

Within 24 hours Moore was getting phone calls from people wondering why he’d paid about triple what a replica was worth. A replica? “I thought I was buying one of the five original cars,� he says. After all, the Kruse catalog seemed pretty specific about what was a replica and what wasn’t: Such as a “1984 Ford Country Squire ‘Family Truckster’ replica, created to look like the station wagon used in the film National Lampoon Vacation.�

The Daytona newspaper picked up the story, and there was immediate squirming within the auto auction community. Questions arose about other “star cars� sold from the Klassix collection. Such as that “1959 Cadillac Ghostbusters ambulance, one of the actual cars used in the filming of this blockbuster movie, finished and equipped to look just as it did in the film. Includes Certificate of Authenticity from George Barris,� the catalog said.

The Professional Car Society, a national group of vintage ambulance enthusiasts, burned up its website’s message board with angry e-mails. The ambulance, which sold for a heady $55,000, was “a replica, and not a very good one, either,� said one Professional Car Society member. It was never in a movie.

So where does this leave Moore? “In court, probably,� he says. “I feel the car was misrepresented, and I want my money back.�

It seems logical to assume that if the aged Barris is confused about cars that have never left his possession, does it really matter if the dude "verifies" the James Dean car? He may confuse it with the Jimmy Dean sausage promotional vehicle.

 

Im really curious to see who has the car, and if its even out there still.

 

It sounds like the orignal was stolen. I doubt the perp would step forward even if the statute of limitations has long passed