The Life and Legend of Hollywood Icon James Dean

By September 1955, Dean had set his sights on Salinas, California, where he planned to compete in a sports car race. Warner Bros., having just wrapped Giant, finally lifted its racing ban on September 21. Dean wasted no time.

He bought the sleek, aluminum-bodied Porsche 550 Spyder and added personal flourishes—his racing number, “130,” and the infamous nickname, “Little Bastard.” The car was fast, compact, and lethal. After seeing it, Alec Guinness warned Dean it “looked sinister” and predicted a deadly crash.