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Today, Friday, September 30, 2011, marks the 56th anniversary of the death of American icon James Dean. Far less significantly but also noteworthy, it rather obviously marks the same anniversary of the passing of Little Bastard, the 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder that Dean was driving west on U.S. Route 466 (now known as State Route 46) in Cholame, California, on his way to a race in Salinas.

Dean’s death was caused, not by speeding as some believe, but by a fellow motorist who veered into Dean’s path. Dean’s last words, as quoted by his mechanic and passenger that day, Rolf Wütherich, were, “That guy’s gotta stop… He’ll see us.” He didn’t see them, he did not stop, and the head-on collision led to Dean’s death about 10 minutes later.

While the legend of James Dean had already been firmly established even before his untimely death, the curse of Little Bastard, the name bestowed upon the Porsche Spyder by Dean himself, was just getting started. While details and the exact series of events are clouded in uncertainty, there’s no arguing that the wreck of Little Bastard was sold after the tragic accident and many of its parts were subsequently used in other vehicles… in some cases, with confirmed fatal consequences.

Was the car that killed James Dean really cursed? We’re not ones to cast judgment on such issues of mythical folklore, but the details surrounding Little Bastard are nothing if not an interesting story. We suggest you read more here, here and here, or watch the video we’ve pasted after the break that discusses the actor’s life and the curse of Little Bastard.

Continue reading Remembering James Dean and the curse of Little Bastard [w/video]

Remembering James Dean and the curse of Little Bastard [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Over the past half-century, James Bond has driven a wide variety of vehicles. (Okay, so most of them have been Aston Martins. The point is there’s been a lot of them.) And while the occasional former Bond vehicle may pop up at auction every now and then, seeing more than one or two in the same place is a rare occasion indeed.

Next year, however, the Bond franchise is turning 50, and to celebrate, a number of parties are teaming up to put together the largest display of Bond cars ever. The exhibition will take place at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, England, and is being orchestrated with help from Empire (the world’s foremost movie magazine) and EON Productions (which puts together every Bond movie ever filmed).

The display will be part of the Big Screen exhibition there, which already includes the Aston Martin DBS from Quantum of Solace, the DB5 from Goldeneye, the Jaguar XKR from Die Another Day, and the 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom lll from Goldfinger. All told, some 50 cars from various Bond movies will be on display from January through December 2012. Follow the jump for the full press release and scope out the quartet of high-resolution images of the four aforementioned vehicles in the gallery.

World’s largest James Bond car collection coming together next year at British museum originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fast Lane Daily hosted by Derek DeAngelis.
Fast Lane Daily – Car News. Fast Cars. Fast and Fresh. Every day.

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