2007: Coming Home Carrying Our Shield Rather Than On It.

RetroRacing's driver Barret Camper teamed up this year with Dr. Justin Broughton, in his 1965 Ghia specially built for the grueling La Carrera Panamericana under the direction of Frank Camper of RetroRacing.

The 1965 Ghia ran in the Histórica "A" class, for four-cylinder cars built in 1965 or earlier, and this year there were nine Histórica "A" cars that started the race. Two 356 Porsches, two Volvo P1800's, one Volvo sedan, one BMW 1600, one Austin Mini, and not just our own Ghia, but another -- a local Mexican entry.

Only five were to finish, and both Ghias were among them, ours in 3rd and the local entry in 5th.

The first La Carrera Panamericana race was run in 1950. It was conceived to publicize the opening of the Pan American Highway. The exhausting event ran about 2000 miles (then and now) over good and bad roads through Mexico from one end to the other. It was longer and more brutal than any of the top European cross country races such as the Mille Miglia, or Liege-Rome-Liege. The PanAm quickly won international fame and grew beyond its initial Detroit entrants to teams from Ferrari, Porsche, and Mercedes.

Tragic accidents and the sheer scale of the PanAm's organization were to doom the race by 1954, but the race was restarted in 1988. The race (then and now) is legendary as one of the most dangerous torture tests of all time. Porsche adopted the name "Carrera" from this very race, and RetroRacing did the same, designating it's PanAm Ghia as a Karmann Ghia Carrera. But Ghias have run the PanAm before. Mexican entry Ghias finished 4th in Histórica "A" in '04 and '05.

There are few chances to relive a legend. The PanAm is one of those rare opportunities. There is nothing like it in the world. This year, in the 20th PanAm, almost one hundred classic cars from ten countries began in southern Mexico on 26th October and raced north seven days over 2000 miles until 01 November. The PanAm passed though the heart of Mexico, most of it at high altitude (5000 to 8000 ft.) over the mountains and through colonial cities. The roads were cleared (sort of) by Mexican Police. Along the way, thousands of spectators cheered the cars on. As in the original, the teams overnighted in hotels in some of the most picturesque cities in Mexico.

Just finishing the race a week later is a major accomplishment, and brings with it a lifetime of memories.