For those who remember, and even those who don't:

"For history/trivia buffs: It was an original, brand-new Porsche 550 Spyder that actor James Dean was planning to race competitively... and in which he met his end on California Hwy. 46. The accident occurred late Friday afternoon, September 30, 1955 west of Blackwell's Corner in San Luis Obispo County, in a collision with a black-and-white 1950 Ford Custom Tudor coupe driven by Donald Turnupseed, a student at nearby California Polytechnic Institute. Turnupseed escaped with a gashed forehead and a bruised nose. No charges were filed against him. The California Highway Patrol report concluded that the color of Dean's car and the twilight dusk had effectively camouflaged Dean's Spyder.


Dean had been driving from Los Angeles up to Salinas (near Monterey) for a sports car race being held the next day. Dean's German mechanic, Rolf Wütherich, survived the accident with a smashed jaw, a broken leg, and multiple contusions, cuts and abrasions. Following behind them was a 1953 Ford "station wagon" driven by another of Dean's team mechanics... none other than (then 24-year-old) Dan Gurney himself."

Tom

 

I never heard the Gurney connection before - is that really accurate? Not questioning your honesty at all - I'm just amazed!

 

Dave,

I should have done this anyway:
Quoted from Chuck Beck Motorsports page: http://www.chuckbeckmotorsports.com/james_dean.html

Tom

 

That's really fascinating. I've been messin' around with sports and racing cars for 40 years and I never heard that.