Carrera Panamericana
The Carrera Panamericana was (and is again) a race on open roads in Mexico, similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy.
After the Mexican section of the Panamerican Highway was completed in 1950, a race was established to celebrate this feat. Due to safety concerns, the high speed race was cancalled in 1955 after the Le Mans Crash. The Carrera was resumed in the 1990s as rallye for vintage cars only.
In 1952, the Mercedes-Benz 300SL of Kling/Klenk was hit by a vulture in the windscreen, injuring the codriver. The screen was fitted with additional vertical protection bars, and the team continued to win.
Despite their rather small cars of the time, Porsche enjoyed some success in the race, mainly class wins. Later on, they called some of their cars Porsche Carrera, after this race. (They did the same with the Targa).