$1m offer for James Dean crash car

A car museum in the United States has offered $1m (€813,327 ) for the car in which actor James Dean died in 1955.

The infamous Porsche 550 Spyder mysteriously disappeared almost 50 years ago - three years after the screen legend’s crash.

The wreck was bought by Dean’s friend George Barris, who went on to create the Batmobile.

Barris had added the number 130 and the nickname Little Bastard on the back of Dean’s car, at the 24-year-old actor’s request.

After the crash, he loaned the mangled body to police for use in safety demonstrations. It disappeared after one such show, en route back to California from Florida.

The Volo Auto Museum in Illinois has made an appeal for its return for an exhibition to mark the 50th anniversary of Dean’s death.

Artefacts from the crash, including a passenger-side door, the only part of the car known to exist, will be displayed next month.

Volo officials said they do not care how the car was taken and promised no questions would be asked.

“Historically speaking, it is one of the most important cars of all time,” said museum president Greg Grams. “It belongs in a museum.”

Dean was killed on September 30, 1955 when he collided with another car in Cholame, California. His brief career and violent death helped transform him into a cult icon.