This one-off Porsche is inspired by a legendary racing event few people ever watched

  • Porsche unveiled a one-off dedicated to the Carrera Panamericana race
  • Only five editions were held in the 1950s
  • Porsche isn’t planning a production model for now

Published on Oct 16, 2024 at 4:31 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis

Last updated on Oct 24, 2024 at 7:35 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Tom Wood

Porsche has unveiled a one-off beauty inspired by, and dedicated to, the iconic Panamericana race.

Based on the 718 Spyder RS, the Panamericana Special was designed in collaboration with Porsche’s long-standing partner TAG Heuer.

Among other things, the car is also a tribute to the 550 Spyder, which is probably one the most memorable roadsters built by Porsche.

The bad news is Porsche is apparently not even considering a production model – for now.

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A beautiful one-off Porsche

Visually, this 718 is rich with decals and stickers that honor the Panamericana-winning 550 Spyder.

The livery is also inspired by the 550, with Centenaire Silver mixed with Carmine Red fender stripes and yellow ’55’ numbers.

The interior is also red, with ‘Carrera Panamericana’ logos throughout and a watch mount designed to integrate the TAG Heuer Carrera watch that matches the car.

The car is not for sale, but the watch is.

You can buy it for ‘just’ 35,000 Swiss Francs, equivalent to around $40,000.

An iconic race…that few people ever watched

The Panamericana, known as Carrera Panamericana, is one of those mythologic racing events that everyone’s heard about, even though very few people have actually seen a race live.

It was also short-lived, with only five editions between 1950 and 1954.

There are several reasons why people still love to talk about it, read about it and buy cars (or watches) inspired by it.

The Panamericana was initially conceived as America’s answer to Italy’s Mille Miglia.

But it is one of those races that would be very difficult to complete today, due to logistical and safety reasons.

It ran along a stretch of the Pan-American highway, which connects the Americas, from Alaska in the US to Ushuaia in Argentina.

However, despite the name, it wasn’t really ‘Pan-American’.

The first edition, for example, mostly only included Mexico and Guatemala.

The love story between TAG Heuer and Porsche

Porsche and TAG Heuer have been collaborating since God’s dog was a puppy.

If there’s a new Porsche, you can automatically assume there’s a matching TAG Heuer watch.

This has been true since…forever.

For example, two years ago, TAG Heuer unveiled a watch dedicated to 50 years of the Porsche Carrera.

TAG Heuer has often named models after racing events or race tracks, this goes for the Monza and the Monaco.

But when it comes to the Carrera, TAG Heuer themselves admit they don’t know where the name come from.

Although most people assumed it was indeed named after the Carrera Panamericana race.

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Experienced content creator with a strong focus on cars and watches. Alessandro penned the first-ever post on the Supercar Blondie website and covers cars, watches, yachts, real estate and crypto. Former DriveTribe writer, fixed gear bike owner, obsessed with ducks for some reason.