The original Carrera Panamericana was a road race that began at the Texas-Mexico border and stretched all the way south to Mexico's boundary with Guatemala. It was brutal and genuinely dangerous — and like the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio, it drew the world's finest drivers, including names like Fangio and Unser. A Porsche 550 Spyder claimed its class win in 1953 and repeated in 1954, which is ultimately why later 911 models carry the Carrera name. In those early years, though, the race was essentially NASCAR let loose on open roads.
Now, over on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos), there's a massive hot-rod Lincoln that captures the untamed spirit of those early Panamericana days — and actually raced in the modern version of the event. It's a 1949 Lincoln Club Coupe fitted with a 390-cubic-inch V-8, a complete racing safety setup, and a five-speed manual transmission. Leave any thoughts of the wallowing Lincoln land yachts of the 1970s at the door; this machine is a powerboat looking for open road.
If that big coupe puts you in mind of monkeys and barrels, there's an unexpectedly relevant historical footnote: the car pays partial tribute to an era when a NASCAR driver actually did race with a monkey aboard. Tim Flock, an early NASCAR legend, ran eight races alongside a simian co-driver named "Jocko Flocko" as a promotional stunt — until Jocko got loose mid-race and caused chaos. Early stock car racing makes Talladega Nights look restrained.
The inaugural Carrera Panamericana was taken by an Oldsmobile 88 at an average of 88 mph, but the second race was entirely owned by Lincoln. In the stock car class, Lincoln coupes swept the entire podium and also took fourth. Given what the course demanded — rough gravel, sheer drop-offs, ascents past 10,000 feet — simply finishing was impressive. Lincoln's marketing team had plenty to brag about.
The modern Panamericana still runs annually, and this Lincoln participated in the 2006 edition. To compete, it has been substantially upgraded in both performance and safety over any road-going American sedan of the same era. A full roll cage, Sparco seats, five-point harnesses, a fuel cell, and a fire suppression system are all fitted.
AFCO dampers handle the suspension, the Lincoln sits low over 15-inch wheels wearing chunky Avon tires, and Wilwood disc brakes provide the stopping power. The gearbox is a Tremec five-speed manual.
Under the hood lives a 390-cubic-inch Ford FE-series V-8 with 406 heads, upgraded roller rockers, and a Holley 1850 carburetor. An official power figure isn't provided, but expect something comfortably above 300 horsepower. The driving video makes clear that it sounds exactly as it should.
This Lincoln merges the spirit of early stock car racing with the white-knuckle tradition of Panamericana road racing and enough modern engineering to keep it usable. If you want your weekends to carry a hint of trans-Mexico adventure, all you need is this car and a co-driver who doesn't mind the occasional flying insect.
The auction ends on Tuesday, March 17.
