This Transaxle From James Dean’s Wrecked Porsche Is A Morbidly Fascinating Auction Find

Almost 70 years after he died in a horrific car accident at the age of 24, James Dean remains one of the most famous of all Hollywood actors. Many people won’t have even seen a single film of his, but his name, and his image, are instantly recognizable.

And some of the most recognisable Dean images are of him with Little Bastard, the Porsche 550 he was driving when he was T-boned by a Ford on his way to a race meeting.

Dean died, his mechanic, Rolf Wütherich, was ejected from the passenger seat and badly injured, and though what was left of the car was sold on and passed through various hands over the years, its current whereabouts is unknown. But at some point before it disappeared someone removed the transaxle and it’s currently up for grabs on Bring-a-Trailer.

You’ll definitely need a trailer for this one, but you might want to bring some fenders, a chassis, wheels and engine, too. Because if you win the auction all you’ll get is a four-speed manual transmission complete with starter motor, driveshafts, brake assemblies and dampers, all mounted on a custom display stand.

Serial numbers visible on the transmission casing correspond to paperwork from Porsche confirming that the unit was originally fitted to a 1955 550 Spyder with chassis number 550-0055 and engine number 90059. And more period paperwork from the California DMV proves that the 90059 engine number was fitted to a 1955 Porsche 550 owned by Dean, making the whole thing seem legit, if still macabre.

This is certainly one of the weirder auction finds we’ve come across, and we’ll admit that the idea of displaying it on its stand in your living room is kind of creepy. But we’re fascinated, all the same.