James Dean was associated with two iconic Porsche cars during his brief but spectacular life. The second was a newly purchased 550 Spyder in which he crashed and died on September 30, 1955. But his first Porsche was a 1955 Speedster—a car he used to compete in Southern California’s emerging sports car racing scene, and that raised the German automaker’s profile with enthusiast drivers in the United States.

The whereabouts of both cars have long been shrouded in mystery, and the crashed Spyder is considered lost to time. Now, after years of Sherlock Holmes-like detective work and research, author and James Dean expert Lee Raskin has tracked down the actor’s long-lost Speedster.

In James Dean and the Porsche 356 Speedster, Raskin details Dean’s complete exploits with his Speedster, including his racing results, and then traces its path over the subsequent decades through to its rediscovery and restoration.

About the Author:

Lee Raskin is an internationally recognized expert on James Dean and his motorsports exploits. Lee is also the author of the acclaimed photographic biography, James Dean at Speed, the definitive account of Dean’s fatal crash, James Dean: On the Road to Salinas, and is the co-author of Porsche Speedster Typ 540: Quintessential Sports Car. Lee also co-produced the documentary, James Dean at High Speed in 1996 for SpeedTV. This documentary was later syndicated in Britain, Australia, and Japan.

Lee wrote his first James Dean article in 1977 for the Porsche 356 Registry magazine, and has since been credited with documenting many intrinsic James Dean and Porsche-related facts that have appeared in feature articles for Porsche Panorama, 000 Magazine, Christophorus, Excellence Magazine, and many others. He resides near Brooklandville, Maryland.

8.5 x 8.5 in

Softcover

190 pages

ISBN 978-1-7327255-5-3

$33.95 including $5 S&H for U.S. customers

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