Porsche celebrates the Carrera Panamericana with special 718 Cayman GT4 RS

The Porsche 911 GT3 R rennsport wasn't the only new model the German carmaker chose to debut at last week's Rennsport Renunion held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas, California. 

Built with Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer, the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Tag Heuer x Porsche pays homage to a pair of Porsche 550 Coupés (one of which took class honours) that raced in the 1953 Carrera Panamericana. In case you're not au fait with this event, it was a border-to-border rally race held on open roads in Mexico from 1950 to 1954.

Similar in spirit to Italy's legendary Mille Miglia and Sicily's Targa Florio, the Carrera Panamericana was regarded by many in the business to be the most dangerous race of any type in world, with a high attrition rate and numerous fatalities — 27 people perished during its five-year history.

After a 34-year absence, the event was revived in 1988 as a seven-day, 3,200km classic speed rally incorporating many parts of the original course.

At this year's running scheduled to begin on October 13, US racing driver Patrick Dempsey will be driving one of these special edition Cayman models — number 154 — in the first two stages.

The second car, with racing number 152, will also be presented there. Differing only slightly from its sister car, it is to be auctioned in early 2024 for a good cause.

Both of these special Cayman models were constructed in the Porsche Sonderwunsch workshop in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and come licked in Le Mans Silver Metallic paintwork that references Porsche's first 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (a 1951 356 SL Coupé). This exact same shade is also applied to the vehicle's window angles and air intake panels.

Other cool retro touches include racing numbers applied to the doors and roof while Tag Heuer logos adorn the bonnet, rear wing side blades, wheel hub covers and engine air filter box. This branding acknowledges the watchmaker's long-standing partnership with the Porsche brand as well as the 60th anniversary of its iconic Carrera chronograph. Red Mobil Pegasus motifs, meanwhile, give a hat-tip to the ones used on the 550 Coupés. 

The cabin of both cars feature striking Guards Red leather seat upholstery, which offsets the black of the dashboard and the door panel trim. The latter sport unique contrast stitching in the colours of the Mexican flag.

Other neat touches include "GT4 RS Panamericana Special" lettering on door scuff plates, a Tag Heuer logo embossed on the central armrest and Carrera Panamericana logos embroidered on the seat headrests. 

The number 154 car features a Tag Heuer stopwatch module in the centre console. This component was designed and made by the watchmaker especially for the project and is not available to buy. It consists of a mechanical three-hand clock plus a stopwatch with a scale that helps the driver to maintain the average speed often prescribed for rallies.

The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Tag Heuer x Porsche is powered by a 4.0l flat-six engine making 368kW and 450Nm of torque. Sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed PDK gearbox, it'll zip from 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds and reach a VO2 Max of 315km/h.