The 911 is Named After a Mexican Rally
The names for both the 911 Carrera and the new Panamera Gran Turismo came from Mexico’s historic Carrera Panamericana race, where Porsche scored many victories.
Really, there’s no need to question how important racing is to Porsche. They love it, it’s what they do. But most people don’t understand exactly much racing is ingrained into the character of the Porsche brand. It’s so important, that they named their most important car after a race. And it’s not even in Germany.
Both the Carrera and Panamera are named after the mexican Carrera-Panamericana rally. Porsche entered the race in 1950. They won their first race (by a technicality) in 1952, and again in ’53 and ’54. Back then, endurance races really did mean endurance. The fact that upstart manufacturer Porsche was able to finish reliably, and win, is where Porsche’s legacy for building un-killable cars took root.
Shortly afterward, Porsche released the Carrera to rave reviews.