Michael Satterfield
TGR Staff – 06/01/2023
Pacto has released a new limited edition jacket based on the original team jackets worn by the renowned Guatemalan racing driver José Herrarte Ariano in the 1953 IV La Carrera Panamericana Mexico. Harrarte would win first place in the Sports 1600cc category with his Porsche Spyder 550-01 and consequently the first win for the Porsche brand in the Americas.
The jackets are faithful to the originals worn by the team and are limited to just 250 being produced by the Costa Rican lifestyle brand Pacto. While they aren’t on their website yet you should be able to reach out to them via their Facebook page to try to secure one.
Chassis 550-01 has an amazing history, on its debut outing on May 31, 1953, 550-01 won its first-ever race event, taking class victory at Nurburgring in the rain with Walter’s cousin, Helmut Glöckler behind the wheel. Shortly after, 550-01 and 02 were sold to a group led by Czech-born Guatemalan garage owner, Jaroslav Juhan. Later that year, 550-01 and 550-02 won the 1000-kilometer race in Buenos Aires, and both cars competed in the grueling, five-day, 3,000-kilometre Carrera Panamericana. Car 550-02 took out the class win after sister car 550-01 retired with the fastest time in four of the event’s eight stages. After its Carrera Panamericana debut, 550-01 raced in Mexico until 1957, appearing in over 30 events.
Learn more at pacto-store.com.
