Patrick Dempsey, one of the fastest men in Hollywood, is to drive a custom-built Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS in the epic Carrera Panamericana road race.
The car has been built to commemorate milestones in the history of Porsche and watchmaker TAG Heuer. 70 years ago two customer teams entered the gruelling Mexican event driving Porsche 550 Coupes, while ten years later Jack Heuer unveiled a timepiece targeted at racers called the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph.
Actually, two TAG Heuer x Porsche – Legends of Panamericana vehicles have been assembled by the Stuttgart firm’s Sonderwunsch department and are styled to pay homage to the racers of 1953. Painted in Le Mans Silver Metallic, they wear TAG Heuer and classic Mobil-inspired livery and the racing numbers 152 and 154.
Inside there are Guards Red leather seats and cross stitching in the green, white and red of the Mexican flag. Most notably there are a pair of TAG Heuer stopwatches mounted in the center console so that Dempsey and his co-driver can keep tabs on their stage times during this year’s race.
Dempsey will driver car 154 on the first two stages of the Carrera Panamericana which begins October 13 in Veracruz, Mexico and covers some 2,000 miles before reaching the finish in Nuevo León on October 19. Car number 152 is set to be auctioned for charity in 2024.
“With TAG Heuer and Porsche, the Carrera Panamericana brought together two brands that have so much in common: innovation, a passion for racing, and making dreams come true. We want to celebrate our partnership with this pair of one-off cars. It’s also a gift to our many enthusiastic customers in Latin America,” says Robert Ader, Head of Marketing at Porsche AG.
