A superb and rare photo taken during the 1953 edition of the Carrera PanAmericana road race. Shown in this great image is the Porsche 550 Spyder of the 1,600cc Sports Car Class winner Jose Herrarte. He won the race in a total time of 23 hours and 43 minutes and almost had to retire in Mexico City because of exhaustion…

It is an absolutely gorgeous image which was taken during the 4TH edition of one of the most famous roadraces ever: the Carrera Pan Americana, which was ridden in Mexico.

Interestingly, in the 1953 edition of the Carrera PanAmericana there were 14 starters in the 1,600cc Sports Car Class. BUT, there were only two finishers: both with Porsche ’s! First was Jose Herrarte with a 550 Spyder, second was Fernando Segura with a 365 Speedster. Herrarte was a Guatemalan road racer and coffee grower. Fernando Segura was an Argentinean architect who lived in Houston, Texas, USA, at the time.

The photographed Porsche 550 of winner Jose Herrarte was very similar to the 550 that Porsche prepared for the 24 hour race of Le Mans in 1953. The highly tuned engine was almost the same. However, because of the dusty and hot Carrera PanAmericana racing circumstances, the Solex carburetors of the photographed 550 were equipped with air filters and an auxiliary oil tank was fitted as well for extra cooling.

Porsche had developed a special 550 version just for the long endurance races. Characteristic was the metal (aluminum) rooftop. Porsche was so very successful in the extremely heavy Carrera PanAmericana that they named quite a few of their cars after the famous race. The following Porsche’s have been called Carrera (which stands for “race” in the Spanish language): Porsche 356 , Porsche 904 , Porsche 911 (1963 - 1989) , Porsche 964 (1989 - 1993) , Porsche 993 (1993 - 1998) , Porsche 996 (1998 - 2004) , Porsche 997 (2004 - present) , Porsche 924 and off course the Porsche Carrera GT .

The Porsche 550 Spyder was inspired by the smaller Porsche 356 Spyder which was created and raced by Walter Glöckler in 1951. The Porsche factory specifically designed to build the 550 Spyder in car racing. The 550 was designed as a very low and aerodynamically efficient car. It was so low that former German Formula One racer Hans Herrmann drove it under closed railroad crossing gates during the 1954 Mille Miglia. The 550 became known as Spyder or RS, and gave Porsche its first overall win in a major sports car racing event, the 1956 Targa Florio. Its successor from 1957 onwards, the Porsche 718, was even more successful, scoring points in Formula One as late as 1963. A descendant of the Porsche 550 is generally considered to be the Porsche Boxster S 550 Spyder; the Spyder name was effectively resurrected with the RS Spyder Le Mans Prototype. The Porsche 550 "Little Bastard" is well known as the car in which James Dean died. Interestingly, the 550 is amongst the most frequently reproduced classic automobiles, like the Shelby Cobra and Lotus Seven. Several companies have sprung up in the last 25 years, some of which build near-exact replicas from the ground up, including spaceframes built to exacting specs from Porsche blueprints. Some of the companies that make replicas are Boulder Speedster, Chuck Beck Motorsports, Automotive Legends, Chamonix do Brasil, Thunder Ranch, and Vintage Spyders.

The Carrera PanAmericana was raced from 1950 through 1954. It was held on open roads in Mexico that ran from a southern Mexican west-coast city towards Texas. The race was formed to celebrate the competition of the Panamerican Highway. It was a multi-staged race across the country that counted towards the World Sportscar Championship. The race saw entrants from factory teams, privateers, and amateurs. On average, only one-third of the entrants were able to finish the race.

The first cars to run the race had top speeds of around 100 mph. By 1954, the cars were easily running at 170 mph. The vehicles were not adequately designed to protect the drivers at speeds this great. Being run on open roads meant that many areas of the course could not be managed; live stock, people, obstacles, and a number of other scenarios could make their ways into the road and cause disaster. The decision to cancel the race in 1954 was sad, but necessary. 

Many people agree that the Carrera Pan Americana race was one of the most grueling road race ever conceived. The race was open to stock production vehicles. A few marque's took advantage of this difficult course to prove their vehicles stamina and toughness, Porsche was one of them!

This is a very nice and very rare non period photo that reflects a wonderful era of Porsche ‘s automotive history in a wonderful way.  This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 9" (ca. 20 x 22 cm).  It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.