text by Ellfian Rahim
A Porsche cruises through a scenic route on the Mille Miglia.
In the beginning: 1,000 miles of sheer terror
On May 12, 1957, during the famed Mille Miglia motorsport endurance race in Italy— an annual event established in 1927—Ferrari driver Alfonso de Portago was involved in a horrific crash which killed the 28-year- old Spaniard, his co-pilot Edmund Nelson and nine spectators. This quickly led to the discontinuation of what was, until then, one of the most popular road races on the European continent.
But by that point, the Mille Miglia was no stranger to tragedy. Earlier on in 1938, another equally gruesome crash occurred outside of Bologna. A speeding car driven by two amateurs launched over a tram line and killed 10 spectators, including seven children. Officials cancelled the 1939 Mille Miglia, but the race proved so popular that they reinstated it in 1940.
Eventually, the race happened some 24 times from 1927 to 1957 (13 times before World War II, and 11 times from 1947 onwards). Like the even older Targa Florio and later the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico, the Mille Miglia was the competition that made grand tourer icons like Alfa Romeo, BMW, Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche famous.
Cars from top manufacturers on show before the race.
The original Mille Miglia began with the Brescia Automobile Club, partly as a response to the town’s loss of the Italian Grand Prix, which in 1922 had been moved from a track near Brescia to a new circuit in Monza. Now, the new race was from Brescia, near Milan, to Rome and back, a distance of about 1,000 miles, as the event’s name suggests.
The first Mille Miglia fielded some 77 cars. Back then, a prospective driver could enter any unmodified sports car at a cost of just one lira! The route left Brescia in northern Lombardy at the foot of the Alps, headed to Rome and turned around again, taking in a little over 1,000 miles. The race format was also very simple: Each car left at a specific time (their start time denoting their race number), and the vehicle taking the least amount of time accomplishing this would win.
The race’s first ever winner was local Brescia driver Giuseppe Morandi. He completed the course in a OM 665S at an average speed of less than 50 mph (about 88 kph) and took 21 hours and five minutes to travel from Brescia to Rome and back. And while times would improve in subsequent years, drivers were often lucky to finish the race at all. This was mainly because the race was also a gruelling contest. Drivers had to negotiate some 7,000 curves through country villages and treacherous mountain passes, on roads that dated to ancient Rome, and were often unsuited to high speeds.
Spectators gather to marvel at the cars up close.
Unfortunately, the very thing that made the Mille Miglia so thrilling is also what made all public road races of that era so dangerous. And this flirtation with risk only added to the aura of the Mille Miglia.
Millions of spectators turned out each year to watch cars from top manufacturers like Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes and Jaguar, and elite drivers from Italy and around the world, mixed in with wealthy amateurs, royals and the occasional celebrity. Crowds of spectators, including families with children, lined the route to see the fastest sports cars in the world up close and personal. Obviously, drivers also pushed their cars to the limit, knowing very well that the smallest mistake could result in disaster.
Undoubtedly the most celebrated Mille Miglia victory was once achieved by Sir Stirling Moss in 1955. Driving a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR with the motoring journalist Denis Jenkinson as navigator, he set an all-time record of 10 hours, seven minutes and 48 seconds at an average speed of 97.96 mph (or 157 kph).
Later, Jenkinson’s account of his terrifying experience in the passenger seat was published in that June’s issue of MotorSport and is still regarded as one of the greatest pieces of motoring journalism ever written.
Moss also described the race during an interview in 2012. “Imagine going up a large incline towards a village at 185 miles per hour without knowing which way the road goes,” recalls Moss. “It was the only race that frightened me, actually.”
The coming of saner times
The race is intended to showcase Italy’s rich heritaqe and landscape.
Following the horrific 1957 debacle, the Mille Miglia was discontinued in its original hell for leather form after 1961. The race was tentatively revived by Alfa Romeo in 1968 as a “re-enactment tour” to mark the launch of the marque’s 1750 model. But It was not until 1982, however, that the decision was taken to create a biennial time trial for historic cars.
The move to the current, annual format then happened in 1987. And while the modern Mille Miglia is officially a competition, the emphasis of this now iconic event remains mostly about celebrating automotive history, as well as the beauty and glamour of the cars and the setting (it is Italy, after all).
Then in the following year, Chopard became the principal sponsor and official timing partner of the Mille Miglia and has held the role ever since. Its decision to associate with the Mille Miglia was not merely about branding; but a celebration of shared values. After all, the world of precision timekeeping in motorsports mirrored Chopard’s dedication to creating exquisite and accurate timepieces.
The watchmaker established a tradition that each competing team is presented with a special Mille Miglia Race Edition watch engraved with their car’s entry number. Of the 33 Mille Miglia designs produced to date, most have been wrist chronographs, although there has been the occasional three-hander as well as a fob watch (1989) and a hand-held stopwatch (1990).
The modern Mille Miglia is more about scoring points rather than going flat out.
Today speed and winning are not what counts. But the showcase of unique classic cars and a passion for driving, at one of the most important and beautiful stages in the history of motorsports: “La corsa piu bella del mondo” – the most beautiful race in the world – takes places every year in mid-May and attracts celebrities as well as car nuts alike from all over the world.
Entrants are restricted to classic car models that competed in the race from 1927 to 1957. This year’s edition promises to be nothing short of extraordinary, with approximately 400 teams revving up to partake in the iconic event. Among these are nearly 70 illustrious cars that once graced the tracks during the original Mille Miglia races between 1927 and 1957.
The 2024 route is also set to be a captivating adventure, designed to showcase Italy’s rich heritage and breathtaking landscapes. From the historic city of Bergamo to the picturesque vistas of Turin, the route meanders through iconic locations, each steeped in automotive history. As participants navigate through the scenic Langhe region and along the captivating coastline, they’ll be treated to a visual feast for the senses.
Among the undeniable highlights of the modern race is the passage through Siena, gliding across the beautiful Piazza Il Campo, as well as visits to Parma and Rome. A new addition to this year’s route is the town of Solomeo in Umbria, known to fashion aficionados as the birthplace of designer Brunello Cucinelli. This inclusion adds a touch of modern Italian culture to the event, celebrating not only Italy’s automotive history but also its influence in the world of fashion.
Doing the Mille Miglia today
The modern Mille Miglia still requires competitors to drive 1,000 miles around Italy’s stunning landscapes, but it’s not an event to take flat out! Instead, you must go through regularities (average speed sections placed one after the other) and time trials, keep consistent speeds and make sure you don’t drive too fast, lest you get penalty points thrust your way.
The thoroughly modern Mille is about points, not seconds. The more points you have (earned though millisecond-perfect timing and smooth driving), the better chance you stand of winning – though it still helps if you’re Italian. And what’s really cool? All cars originally eligible for the Mille Miglia are permitted to enter.
You have to recalibrate your brain to understand how the modern Mille works. One mustn’t drive normally; instead, you’re permitted to dart in and out of moving traffic that has nothing-to-do-with-your- silly-car-rally all the while lane-splitting like a motorcycle and speeding as much as you like. Ultimately, you’re given a free pass to drive like you’re in a super-expensive game of Gran Turismo.
But of course, competitors are advised not to do anything silly, though they can expect to be waved through red lights by police and encouraged to speed through small villages by the crowds that line the entire route.
Along the route, it’s obvious that Italy loves its cars – even when you’re in the middle of nowhere, there are still people watching the cars go by, cheering us on and enjoying the spectacle of a multimillion- dollar moving motor show parping its way by their front door. It’s bizarre, but also a huge rush.
Entrants’ cars have to be stock, as they were during their heyday. This means no alternator to keep the battery charged. So naturally, all participants will have two of these onboard. The Mille isn’t just tough on cars, it practically destroys them.
As an event, the Mille Miglia is utter madness and unlike any sensible driving you’ll ever do. It’s physically and mentally exhausting. After all, you’re concentrating on not having the world’s most expensive crash, getting your time trials bob on, and navigating at the same time.
Every year, the event has some surprises in store. The passage through Genoa, with a view of the port and a parade along the seafront, is the absolute novelty of this year’s edition. More than 400 cars cross seven Italian regions travelling anticlockwise, as participants did the last time in 2021. After starting in Brescia, and passing through Bergamo, Novara and Vercelli, the first leg will end in Turin.
Then, on the second day from Turin, the convoy descends southwards, passing through the Langhe and through the centre of Alba before heading towards Genoa, the 2024 European Capital of Sport for the first race lunch. The race then leaves the Riviera di Levante for the Tyrrhenian coast where it will reach Viareggio, the site of the arrival of the second day of the race.
The descent towards Rome will characterise the third leg, which will initially see a deviation into the Tuscan hinterland with the passage through Lucca, before returning to the coast at Livorno and continuing until the lunch break in Castiglione della Pescaia. In the afternoon, passing through Grosseto, entering Lazio and descending along Lake Bolsena, the day will end with a parade in Via Veneto.
After the halfway point in Rome, the fourth day sees crews driving up to Orvieto before stopping for lunch in Solomeo, a characteristic mediaeval village nestling in the Umbrian hills, from where they will set off again towards Siena and Prato. Before reaching the leg finale in Bologna, drivers and navigators will cross the Futa and Raticosa passes. From Bologna, the last leg will include Ferrara and Mantua, and again Lake Garda with the Valtenesi and Salò before the Viale Venezia classic parade in Brescia signalling the end of the odyssey.
Certainly, the Mille Miglia is a must for anyone enamoured by the majesty of the classic automobile. Whether you are a spectator or participant, this motoring event is a uniting experience for enthusiasts from all over the world to be immersed in their love for motoring.
So, if you perhaps are looking forward to some family vacation time in Italy, maybe the middle of June would be a perfect time to stumble upon hundreds of priceless classic cars together in a picturesque town square?
