above is a clue as to what separates the Panamericana from other modern, re-creations of road races. It remains a true, high-speed race (stage rally) mainly through the mountains, and as such, is extremely dangerous. Mechanical attrition for the more classic cars often leads to burst brake lines and overheated engines, but crashes are also common on the winding roads. In 1999, Bernardo Obregón and his co-driver Alda Arnauda were killed after their Volvo PV544 left the road during the Mil Cumbres mountain stage. In 2006, a 19-year-old co-driver survived a serious head injury that left him in a coma after his Jaguar E-Type Roadster crashed into a pine forest; Rusty Ward, another competitor, rolled a Studebaker from a bridge into a river, having finished the event in a similar fashion the previous year. In 2012 there were two more fatalities, but one was from a heart attack. It is obvious, therefore, that the race should not be classed with road-rallies in the style of the recreated Mille Miglia. However, since 2012 the race cars' top speed is limited to 144 mph on the closed-road sections, by restricting the engine's RPM (engine revolutions per minutes) by a chip in the electric ignition, and additional safety measures have been required. 2006 The 2006 event started in Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico coast, pulling in at Mexico City's CP circuit as a curtain raiser for the Champ Car race, and stayed nights at the old colonial cities of Puebla, Querétaro, Morelia, Aguascalientes and Zacatecas, with the finish at Monterrey. It was won by Gabriel Perez and Angelica Fuentes in a yellow 1959 Ford Coupe, the first win for a woman and a first for the 'Turismo Production' class. Though competed mostly by amateurs, Jo Ramírez of the McLaren F1 team competed a Volvo P1800 amongst other star drivers. In a retro step, Cadillac entered a replica of the 1954 Series 62 coupe that a Colorado Springs dealer loaned to "five ordinary guys from Chicago", in order to revive a half-century old duel with Lincoln. The original 1954 team won the last two stages, and finished third in class (a Lincoln Capri won the Large Stock Class). The newer car, built in-house by GM's Performance Division Garage, preproduction trim shop and show-car paint department, was built from an identical coupe from somewhere within Cadillac's own inventory. The 331-cubic-inch V8 was enlarged to