Carrera Panamericana

While it’s no longer the intrepid and hugely dangerous north to south, border-to-border, high-speed thrash that it was in the 1950s, the modern-day Carrera Panamericana conceived in 1988 is, like its Italian counterpart the Mille Miglia, still an exciting and high-octane thrill-ride. And the distance hasn’t actually changed that much, the original top-to-bottom route now a more convoluted, but still well over 2000-mile run through several of Mexico’s southern states, from Tuxtla Gutiérrez in the country’s southernmost province, to San Luis Potosi in the centre of the country, crossing through Mexico City along the way. The 2026 event begins on the 16 October and finishes on the 22nd. Cars of the 50s and 60s still make up the bulk of the entries, and 2025’s event was won by a team in a 1950s Chevrolet V8-powered Studebaker Commander coupe.