Ogle These Famous Cars Spotted in the Hamptons
By Lee Meyer
The Bridgehampton Road Rally and Tour d’Hamptons presented by the Bridgehampton Museum and Dan’s Papers is fast approaching! On October 1, come to the Bridgehampton Museum to see some classic and unique cars. For now, check out these interesting cars we’ve spotted around the Hamptons.
You may recognize the 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder as the “Little Bastard,” the infamous car that James Dean drove into a fatal car crash. While Dean’s ruined, customized car actually disappeared for many years and became a mythical treasure among car collectors, the Spyder was a popular high-end vehicle. Earlier this year, Hamptonite Jerry Seinfeld auctioned off part of his famous porsche collection, including a 550 Spyder. The going rate for one of these history-tinged cars is $5–$6 million.
James Bond films have always been famous for the cars the famous superspy drives. One such car, the Lotus Esprit, was converted to look like a submarine in The Spy Who Loved Me. In 1985, Flanders resident Ron Fisher found the iconic “underwater” car from the movie at an auction in a storage trailer in 1985. Hamptonites got to see the unique beauty at the 2011 Flanders Autumn Antique Car Show at the Big Duck Ranch. The car has since been sold.
Put down your Pokémon Go app for a few minutes and check this out. In 1998, Nintendo of America went on a publicity tour around the country to promote their mega-popular Pokémon games. A major part of the promotion was a 1998 Volkswagen Beetle customized to look like the game series’ unofficial mascot, Pikachu. Only 10 were ever made, making this a very rare collector’s item. Well, the good people at Hamptons Car Spotter are apparently good Pokémon catchers, because they captured a snapshot of the car right here in Sag Harbor! The car is painted yellow, with brown streaks on top, two pointy ears and a tail shaped like a lightning bolt. The door has the Pokémon logo and “Gotta catch ’em all” slogan, and the back window and windshield have what appear to be decals (but could be painted) of various other Pokémon characters.
The famous Herbie the Love Bug, a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle, was seen in Southampton a number of times last year, though we haven’t seen it recently. As far as we know, this version is not sentient, but it still looks really cool.
Click here to learn more about the Bridgehampton Road Rally or Tour d’Hamptons driving events and stop by the Bridgehampton Museum that day to enjoy a host of exciting cars, events and exhibitors—free and open to the public—the same day. Find out more about this thrilling day of car-themed fun at BridgehamptonRally.com.
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