James Dean, James Bond, Porfirio Rubirosa and the Ferrari 500 Mondial

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James Dean, James Bond, Porfirio Rubirosa and the Ferrari 500 Mondial

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Created on January 3, 2019

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Pavel Litwinksi - Courtesy Bonhams

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JEdgarMotorsports - Courtesy Bonhams

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Getty Images - Courtesy Bonhams

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Archiv Los Angeles Times

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Aelia85 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Steve Burton

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - Barchetta completely restored by Ferrari

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - a famous car with famous owners

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - weighing around 720 kg and producing 170 hp

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - the engine at the front, the 150-liter petrol tank at the back

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - 225 cm wheelbase

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - all handmade, each car looked a little different

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - right-hand drive

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - ready for the next race

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - tight bodywork over a tubular frame

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - minimalist comfort

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - the body was designed by Pinin Farina

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - a racing windshield that doesn't need windshield wipers

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - the car was delivered to Rubirosa in this color

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - on the move

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - on the move

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - the right sports car for gentlemen drivers

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - the battery was originally in the engine compartment

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - The racing driver doesn't need a speedometer

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - two overhead camshafts, two-liter displacement

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - the four-cylinder engine from Lampredi

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - longitudinally mounted engine

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - Spare wheel above the tank

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - View under the car, the 150 liter fuel tank

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - complete tool kit

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Ferrari 500 Mondial Pinin Farina Spyder Series I (1954) by Thomas R. Peck - winner of the M-3 class

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - Porfirio Rubirosa relaxed with Lacoste polo shirt and Ferrari

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - Porfirio Rubirosa driving fast against a Jaguar XK 120 in Santa Barbara

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - View into the engine compartment of the four-cylinder engine with a displacement of two liters

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Porfirio Rubirosa - usually accompanied by elegant ladies and always perfectly dressed up

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Porfirio Rubirosa and Zsa Zsa Gabor around the year 1954

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - with John von Neumann at the wheel

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - with John von Neumann at the wheel

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - with Phil Hill at the wheel

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - Phil Hill works on the engine

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - Phil Hill controls the wheels

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - with Phil Hill at the wheel

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - admired by James Dean

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - admired by James Dean

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - admired by James Dean

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - admired by James Dean

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Ferrari 500 Mondial (1954) - admired by James Dean

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Ferrari 250 GT Spider - Porfirio Rubirosa's crashed car in Paris in 1965

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Summary

What do James Dean, James Bond, Porfirio Rubirosa and a Ferrari 500 Mondial have to do with each other? Quite a lot, even if not all the connections are obvious. Our report explains the connections and backgrounds, which would probably be enough material for several Hollywood films. And, of course, the Ferrari 500 Mondial is not neglected in this article.

This article contains the following chapters

The born womanizer
Sporting role model for the men
Bought with money from women
Built for the gentleman driver
Soon sold again
No car for the rebel James Dean
Death in a Ferrari
Survived and restored
Further information

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Four names - James Dean, James Bond, Porfirio Rubirosa, Ferrari 500 Mondial - and what's the connection? After all, the actor James Dean is known as a Porsche-Ferrari, and the British novel/movie spy James Bond usually drives an Aston Martin, BMW or Bentley. Rubirosa is probably only familiar to those who studied the tabloids in the 1960s. And yet he plays the leading role in this story. Porfirio Rubirosa was born the son of a Dominican diplomat and experienced the big world early on in his life. His winning manner not only won him the favor of the President of the Dominican Republic, but also enabled him to win over special women time and again. This is how he achieved wealth and status.

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