By Leftlane Staff
Thursday, Jun 29th, 2006 @ 11:43 am

This year a “new” 1954 Cadillac “Carrera Panamericana” has taken shape at GM’s Performance Division in Warren, Michigan. The re-creation was a “frame-on” restoration beginning with a vintage car discovered in GM’s vehicle inventory that matched the original racer’s specs — even in color. “We made updates that would enhance the vehicle and occupant safety but maintain the original design intent,” said Al Oppenheiser, GM Performance Division director of concept vehicle engineering. “We kept the project in-house utilizing the Performance Division Garage, the pre-production trim shop and the show car paint team. For example, the instrument panel is as we found it but the seats and soft trim had to be reupholstered.” The Andrews/Plemons Cadillac completed the 1907-mile race over treacherous highways and dusty cart paths in less than 21 hours. In winning the two final stages, their Cadillac averaged over 115 mph for the final 410 miles. Gallery after the jump…

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