If there's a road race in history that's cooler than the original La Carrera Panamericana — a dusty, tequila-and-Lucky-Strike-fueled 1,900-mile trek up the Panamerican Highway from Southern Mexico to the Tejas border, held between 1950 and 1954 — we'd eat our sombreros. It was a matter of pride for the world's storied drivers, like Phil Hill and Juan Manuel Fangio, to compete in the race, which pitted modified American muscle against unforgiving terrain and manifold-melting heat. It was revived in 1988 as a rally for vintage cars, though the danger and bravado is impossible to recreate. Nonetheless, GM Performance is working up a 1954 Cadillac Model 62 hardtop — an homage to the privateer car that finished third in the '54 race, at an average speed of around 115 miles per hour. No word on whether the Caddy will compete in the rally, not that it matters. We're sticking with romanticizing the original.

Related:
Bullitt Rally to Take Place in San Francisco [internal]

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