Vehicle Height

Required ground clearance of vehicles for The Unlimited Class.

(Picture: Keri Rensing and her 2007 Unlimited Class 3rd place overall 2007 GT3 Porsche.)

Topes, or speed bumps, are scattered along the route of La Carrera Panamericana. NONE of them are in the velocity sections. “Velocity sections” are full race sections, blocked off from traffic by the Federal Mexican Highway Patrol. Topes will be found during “transit sections”. They are unpleasant, but taken at 45 degree angles, are manageable. Topes are usually marked by road signs, or will be found in your route book. Topes are used to regulate speed in cities and “bookend” towns in the countryside to slow traffic before populated areas.

It is our recommendation that the minimum height of your race car should be at least four inches, with skid plates.

An example of a car which has completed La Carrera Panamericana would be the Rensing/ Rensing 2007 Porsche GT3. An “off the shelf” factory spec vehicle, the front splitter provides 4 1/4 inches of clearance.

The sides of the GT3 are 5 inches.

The rear of the GT3 is 5 1/2 inches.

This car, run without the assistance of skid plates, completed the 2007 Carrera with no damage to the vehicle’s undercarriage. After a car detailing and removal of the roll cage, the car is presently back to duty as a daily driver in New York City.