The Mille Miglia: A staggering display of grandeur.

The Mille Miglia, a name that carries a myth. A reminiscence of a grandeur it once was, it is the only race in Europe that might rival the epic 24 hours of Le Mans. With the biggest difference being that 24 hours of Le Mans is still an actual competitive race, the Mille Miglia isn’t.

 

 

 

In fact the competitive version of the Mille Miglia was only run 24 times between 1927 and 1957. It ran a loop form Brescia to Rome and then back to Brescia. The race had such an impact it embedded the names of sports car brands and racers in our collective automotive Memory. The iconic names such as the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, Ferrari 250 Berlinetta, … were sculpted during this race. Their drivers such as Stirling Moss, Tazio Nuvolari and Albert Ascari were nothing less than superheroes. To this day the duo Moss/Jenkinson holds the record for the Mille Miglia after finishing its grueling 992 Mile course in 10 hours, 7 minutes and 48 seconds with an average speed of 157 km/h. Nevertheless the race was short-lived as it’s often the case with open road races. It has been banned because it was too dangerous. In the last edition in 1957, two accidents happened with one claiming the lives of eleven people. During its 24 editions the race claimed 56 lives.

 

 

 

Since 1977, the race is back in a more sensible and safer version. The race is now ridden as a regularity rally mostly running at the standard road speeds with a few closed roads and some high speed sections. It is without a doubt one of the greatest classic car experiences a driver can experience. This year was no exception, as these images speak volumes.