In most cases, when the Porsche 550 Spyder is brought up in conversation, someone will mention James Dean’s “Little Bastard”, the Porsche in which he ultimately died. The 550 has become synonymous with James Dean even among people who are not automotive enthusiasts. While the Porsche 550 was a legend in its own right, it has gained something of a notoriety because of this unfortunate event. Forever, the 550 Spyder will be inextricably linked with James Dean, and the reverse is also true.
With the tragic deaths of Paul Walker and Roger Rodas just over a week ago, it seems that the Carrera GT has garnered a similar reputation. Some of the mainstream media are reacting in a typically knee-jerk way, calling the beloved and spectacular CGT ‘unsafe’ and ‘not fit for public roads’. Certainly, what these members of the media are best at, the sky-is-falling finger pointing, arm waving and fear mongering, is going full force, creating a witch hunt looking for someone to blame. Some have even called Porsche the responsible party in this tragic accident for building the car in the first place. While it is truly not a tame car in comparison with the normal commuter-mobile, there are certainly more suspect cars being sold to the general public and Porsche is not at fault.
James Dean And Paul Walker
While I don’t mean to compare James Dean with Paul Walker, but rather the infamy of the 550 and the potential for it with the CGT, the comparison of Dean and Walker is almost inevitable. The fact remains that both lives were ended prematurely at the heights of their respective acting careers in very high-profile accidents, and both involved the highest of performance Porsches at the time. Both of the actors mentioned here led active lives in the automotive communities, and both were very experienced behind the wheels of various racing cars on Southern California racetracks.
The accidents themselves were very different; one being a single car accident, and the other having two afflicted parties. Dean’s Porsche was contacted by an unfortunately mobile Ford wagon, while the Walker Porsche struck an unfortunately immobile pole. However, they are also strikingly similar. Both mid-engine high performance Porsches were broken in half, nearly doubled on themselves at the driver’s compartment, and in both cases, the occupants were pronounced dead at the scene.
What Does The Future Hold For The Reputation Of The Carrera GT?
Will Porsche’s Carrera GT survive the reputational assault that a tragedy of this magnitude can bestow, or will this event be the proverbial albatross around the neck? It has been 58 years since Dean’s passing, and not only his car, but all 550s are linked to that event in our collective consciousness. Will the first memory of the Carrera GT always be as the car that Paul Walker and Roger Rodas lost their lives in?
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View Comments (17)
Methinks that at this point a more thorough post-accident investigation and report needs to issue before we can assign any blame or responsibility to contributing parties, man or beast. For instance:
Was the driver hot-dogging the car in a parking lot?
Did the throttle stick wide open, or some other equipment failure occur?
Was there a distraction of some sort affecting the event?
Speculations like those above need to be answered. The facts should settle matters; let's hope that we get them soon.
Hey, Ron,
Agreed the facts need to be settled, but the story is not about who/what is to blame. Instead, we're curious what people think about the idea of a certain Porsche (or more precisely, an entire model line) being tied to a single incident. Just as the 550 spyder is forever tied to James Dean (for better or for worse) will the CGT have the same fate 50 years from now?
Although I remember JD's death I don't associate the 550 Spyder with him unless someone points it out. When I see a 550 Spyder I appreciate the beauty of its design, the ahead-of-their time mechanics and its racing history. I think once the sensationalist press, we have today, dies down the same thing will happen with the Carrera GT.
Ronald, we sure hope you're right. I think the mainstream media simply does it because they think it will drive eyeballs. However, I just saw a story today about a missing 550 in South Africa and in the first paragraph they mentioned JD.
I don't recall that the 550 ever suffered as a result of the Dean death. The CGT is not and never was intended for boneheads to tool around the Walmart parking lot- it aint an easy drive and never was supposed to be. The CGT crash and burn appears to be a pilot error situation, similar to JD's.
Sad, but preventable. Regrettable, but possibly inevitable.
It is said that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Cars have gotten so good that they generally can make up for the less than stellar drivers, but there are limits and when exceeded will bite you. Make a mistake when pushing things, and that limit comes up sudden-like. Paul was a pretty darned good driver, but a mistake was made.
I would not do well in an F-16 when my seat time is all Cessna. That doesn't mean I would turn down the opportunity, though. It just means that a small error would have big consequences.
The guy at the wheel was a well known race driver and very experienced with high performance RWD cars.
Paul Walker was no James Dean.
Frank,
Different generations. To a lot of kids, especially those involved in car culture, Paul Walker was their James Dean...
RIGHT! WHO IS [WAS] PAUL WALKER ANYWAY? UNLESS YOU ARE A TV SERIES JUNKIE... JAMES DEAN WAS VERY WELL KNOWN WORLD-WIDE...FOR FILM, NOT TV...
Frank C,
Are you familiar with the saying, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt"? It seems it would apply quite nicely to your comment above.
While Walker's career may have started on TV (as far back as the late '70s), it was mostly at the beginning of his career. He didn't become well known (internationally) until "The Fast and the Furious" movie debuted in 2001. That movie franchise alone has grossed $2.4 Billion (yes, that's a "B"). I think it's safe to say he's known worldwide.
As I said to Frank B, it's a generation difference.
Walker wasn't just a tv star but was a high p car driver an stunt driver before he even was a tv Star .but still that don't mean show off an get dead bu
t what suck he wasn't even the one driving it
As stated before, "tragic but preventable." I have never really heard about Roger Rodas or his abilities as a driver. It would seem that common sense took a holiday with both driver and passenger resulting in the death of both. Sad...sad.
It was reported that the CGT was once owned by Graham Rahal. If that be the case, my son and I saw and photographed that car at P2O in Granville, Ohio. Never expected to see photos of it in such condition.
Don, it was owned by Graham so it was the CGT you saw.
I'm actually somewhat surprised that this accident happened the way it did. I thought Roger Rodas was supposedly some sort of "professional driver", and if so, this event is even more difficult to comprehend. Then again, there have been a significant number of ultra performance cars who have "bitten" their wealthy drivers. A Ferrari geek friend told me that a number of Enzos have met ends similar to Rodas' Carrera GT. Although I have never driven a Carrera GT, I can't believe it's that difficult to handle. I am anxious to see if any other factual information comes out of the investigation.
Our guess would be cold tires. That kind of horsepower and cold tires just don't mix. I remember driving a 997.2 Turbo S (530 hp) in late November. Came off of a stop sign into a left hand turn after the car had been sitting for about 2 hours. Almost did a 180. I was able to catch myself at about 90 degrees and recover.
The problem is more down to inexpert throttle application than cold tires. A very good driver can push a high performance car very hard on cold tires.
The loss of two lives in a single car crash is truly tragic. As the authorities have said, excessive speed was probably a factor. I have grown up with 911s, foibles and all. All high performance cars pose certain dangers, but the same can be said for all cars.
While the CGT might be more difficult to drive fast than some other cars, I haven't seen any evidence that suggests its a dangerous car when driven reasonably on public roads.
Our hearts go out to those family members and friends who have lost their loved ones.