What Really Happened With James Dean and the 550 Spyder?

Porsche Club Insider

Jun 23 2025 | 01:22:30

00:00 / 01:22:30

Show Notes

PCA member and internationally recognized expert on James Dean, Lee Raskin, joins us in studio for a lesson on everything you didn’t know about James Dean and his love of racing Porsches. Lee explains to us how he got hooked on James Dean, what he’s discovered over the decades of research and investigating James Dean, his cars, and that fateful day. If you want to hear accurate information on this fascinating topic, this is the podcast for you.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:02:00) - Guest introduction, Lee Raskin
(00:03:50) - Why did you get interested in James Dean?
(00:08:10) - James Dean books that Lee authored
(00:11:49) - How did Lee get into Porsches?
(00:15:56) - Why did James Dean drive Porsches?
(00:26:20) - How did the 550 Spyder and James Dean come together?
(00:40:05) - Why was Dean heading to Salinas?
(00:45:45) - What happened on that fateful day?
(00:59:05) - Investigation of the accident
(01:02:20) - What happened to the wrecked 550 Spyder?
(01:14:49) - Porsche News: Porsche 963 finishes third in IMSA Detroit race
(01:16:59) - PCA events update
(01:17:37) - PCA video update

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