Step back in time with this cool German language film clip of the 1952 Carrera Panamericana from The Jalopy Journal. For those of you unfamiliar with this road race, the Carrera Panamericana was a 1990 mile race that spanned the length of Mexico, border to border!
Held from 1950 to 1954, it was considered to be a extremely hazardous, sometimes deadly race over crude Mexican roads. Nonethel
ess, it attracted racers of all persuasions from all over the world to enter and compete for a big cash prize.
Cadillacs, Lincolns, Oldsmobiles and Hudsons and many European marques appeared at the Panamericana to see which brand had the cojones to make it past the checkered flag.
1952 was important year for the race as it separated sports cars from stock cars, giving big American sedans a chance to compete in a field of lighter, more purpose built European sports cars with factory support.
When the 1952 race was all over, Karl Kling and Herman Lang claimed 1st and 2nd place in the sports car class in a Mercedes Benx 300SL despite the car being hit by a vulture in the windscreen and American Chuck Stevenson won the touring car class in a Lincoln Capri.
The grainy film clip illustrates how mad cap and dangerous this race was, with great shots of vintage Lincolns and Hudsons at speed along with several cars being winched out from under bridges and out of ditches. It all adds up to a cool vintage motorsport history lesson and a glimpse back at a long gone era.
Images: JalopyJournal.com
