La Carrera Panamericana: "The World's Greatest Road Race!" [Hardcover]

Johnny Tipler (Author), Jo Ramirez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2008

The Carrera Panamericana was first run to celebrate the inauguration of the Panamerican Highway, and traversed the length of Mexico, from Tuxtla in the south to Juárez near the Texas border. Firms like Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Porsche took advantage, and as class winners, Porsche even applied the event’s Carrera name to its sportier models. Since its 1987 revival it’s been run rally-style with half-a-dozen special stages a day. Just as it did in the early-’50s, half the entry consists of brash American stock cars, today mostly Panamericana specials based on spaceframe chassis and 600bhp NASCAR V8 engines and running gear, lurking beneath period Studebaker, Hudson, Lincoln or Oldsmobile bodywork. The ’50s and ’60s European classics are no less heavily modified. The arrival of La Carrera Panamericana at each of the provincial towns on its seven-day, 2,000-mile progress through central Mexico last November provided an excuse for wild celebrations. Everywhere the entourage is mobbed by enthusiastic spectators, waving, cheering and demanding souvenirs. Crowds throng, brass bands play, and salsa and tequila overflows. Includes 350 images, maps of modern and original 1950s routes, plus results of original events.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The early races are covered in considerable detail ..." – Mercedes Owner
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"Tipler's informal style captures the flavour of this mad road race, and the bias towards recent years means there's plenty of colour, thanks to the bright Mexican sunshlne and lairy car liveries." – Octane
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"The revival of these legendary races of old is important in that it brings the classic sporting machinery out onto the circuits and tracks for the public to see. The author has successfully captured all of this in an admirable and entertaining way, showing that the modern La Carrera Panamericana is alive and well, and a good event to see one day – if you have the money, that is." – Vehicle Engineer International
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"... this history is dutifully recounted by author Tipler and illustrated with an evocative selection of period photography." – Vintage Racecar
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"A fitting tribute to an extraordinary event." – The Marshal

"The book’s incredible 350 color and black-and-white photos past and present are worth the cover price. Trust me, you won’t get a better overall feel for this colorful race and its participants without actually visiting. This book is a fine piece of work, but be careful reading it: before you know it, you’ll be talking your friends into building a PanAm racer." – Hemmings Motor News
 

"Tipler tells the story of the 2000-mile event, while pictures old and new show the car and the country they are traversing." – Evo

"BOOK OF THE MONTH. For those interested in the mighty motoring epics of a past ages, this will be essential reading." – New Zealand Classic Car

Book Description

Through photos of the stunning countryside and cities visited en route, action shots, interviews with drivers and key personnel, plus vivid narrative, readers are transported to Mexico for an eye-witness account of the Carrera Panamericana. It’s a tale of two halves: the early years, and the modern incarnation for classic cars forms the second half of the book. Includes 350 images, maps of modern and original 1950s routes, plus results of original events.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Veloce (November 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845841700
• ISBN-13: 978-1845841706
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 10 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,150,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SpeedReaders.info Review, February 23, 2010

By 

Speed Readers (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: La Carrera Panamericana: "The World's Greatest Road Race!" (Hardcover)

After briefly interrupting his journalistic activities by going back to school to study art history and doing a stint as conservator of medieval wall paintings author Tipler returned to the world of tire smoke and wrote over 30 marque-specific books and racing biographies since 1990 and edited or contributed to a string of magazines. And he certainly has the street cred to write a book like this. In 2006 and 2007 he accompanied the Panam as a journalist, trading rides in the press van for the occasional hitch in a service crew vehicle, which put him about as close to the action as you can get short of participating yourself.

Tipler devotes almost a third of the book to the early years in an easygoing travelogue style, describing the Panam's origins, modalities, and conditions. The many period photos are of great interest and accompanied by posters, brochures, book covers, maps, race results, and even a few photos of some of the old cars in their restored state, sometimes even with the same drivers from yesteryear (in their not so restored state). All the photos are credited and the selection gives a good impression of the types of cars, the camaraderie on the road, the hundreds of thousands of spectators cheering the cars on, and the atmosphere and even the vastness of the landscape. Several interviews with the luminaries of the day--such as Phil Hill, Carroll Shelby, John Fitch, Hans Herrmann-- and other personnel make the story personal.

The modern races make up the bulk of the book. The 1988-2005era is dispensed with in all of 15 pages that detail the new route/s, new format, new rules, and new cars including a few words about building your own Panam warrior. Readers new to rallying will appreciate the excellent portrayal of the dynamic between driver and navigator, the cockpit interaction, and the supreme importance of pace notes. (If you thought the navigator is just there for ballast, prepare to be impressed.) This section, short as it is, lays the groundwork for the in-depth day-by-day coverage of the 2006 and 2007 events that follows. From uncrating the racecars to scrutineering and from briefings to banquets, the story paints a picture of the hubbub of pre-race activities and then portrays the rally day by day. The photos are large, colorful, and as in the historic section give a gripping overall sense of the flavor of the race. There's much going on and one only wishes Tipler could be in more than one place at a time. Many of the photos are full-page and the layout and typography are fresh and smart. One thing that no amount of words can describe are the vast elevation changes--from sea level to over 10,500 feet--and a graph overlaid on the map would have driven that point home very well.

Appended are race results for the top five finishers in each class 1950-2007 and Resources (books, films, etc.); the index is very good with people, car, and place names but light in every other regard.

For full review see <speedreaders.info>. Copyright 2010, Sabu Advani

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More of the TRUE Panamericana,please., February 16, 2011

By 

Antonio Gămez Mora "El escarabajo pelotero." (Aldaia, Valencia Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: La Carrera Panamericana: "The World's Greatest Road Race!" (Hardcover)

Not a bad book about this amazing race,but the author should have written more about the REAL original series(he has only dedicated about 100 pages of 270 to the subject):the revival of this great race is not even a mere shadow of his glorious precedent.