Mille Miglia porsche 356 registry

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Porsche and the By Phil Carney

Mille Miglia I

In the 1.5 liter Grand Turisimo Internazionale class there were four 356s competing in 1952. One was an aluminum 356 SL driven by Giovanni Lurani and Konstantin Berkheim which finished first in class.

Depending on whom you believe, there were two factory entries in the 1952 Mille. In command of the #048 car was Paul Fürst von Metternich who finished first in the 1.1 liter class and 80th overall. Opposite: #050 was piloted by Richard von Frankenberg (who claimed all 356s were private entries) and was a DNF.

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n December 1926, five friends gathered in Giovanni Canestrini’s apartment to discuss the state of sports car racing in Italy. Heavy on their minds was the success of French automobile manufacturers Bugatti and Peugeot and the notoriety achieved by the threeyear-old Le Mans endurance race. They speculated on the idea of starting an endurance race in Italy but were discouraged by the lack of a suitable track in the country. The discussion eventually turned to the idea of a touring race over public roads. The circuit they decided on was departing Brescia (the home of their automobile club), heading south along the east coast to Rome (to flatter the Fascist regime currently in power) and then returning to Brescia via a different route along the western side of the country. The route covered approximately 1,600 kilometers. Franco Mazzotti, who had recently returned from a trip to the Unites States, noted that this distance was roughly 1,000 miles and the name “Mille Miglia” was born. The idea was initially received very coolly by both the press and the public. But Count Aymo Maggi, one of the event’s founders, had connections and asked his friends in power for help selling the idea. After the political support of Augusto Turati (secretary of the National Fascist Party) and Benito Mussolini was thrown behind the Mille Miglia, it seems everyone thought it a wonderful idea. The five founders then set off to gather the help of local town officials and were rewarded with a staff of twenty-five thousand policemen to control traffic and crowds along the route. In addition the Automobile Club of Brescia agreed to cover the expenses for organizing, publicizing and running the race. The first race was held on March 26th and 27th of the following year. The map showed a figure eight layout with the center point being the town of Bologna. Brescia was the northern starting point and Rome was the southern city before the cars headed back to Brescia. Over the next 23 years of racing, the towns through which the cars chased each other would vary significantly, making re-learning the difficult course an annual challenge. Perhaps this is why local Italians had an advantage and it showed in the results: Italian cars and drivers won 21 out of the 24 events. Alfa Romeo won eleven times, Ferrari won eight times and Lancia and O.M once each. The only non-Italian makes that finished as overall winners were Mercedes-Benz who won twice and BMW who won once (in a 328 driven by

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Huschke von Hanstein in 1940). Despite Italian dominance, the Mille was a very popular race and even today many consider it the world’s most famous open-road endurance race. In its first year there were 77 starters and by 1955 the number of entrants totaled 521. There was lot of attrition though and in some years less than 40% made it back to the finish line.

Porsche Capability During the first four years of building a sports car bearing its own name, Porsche met with unexpected success. The income from selling their Type 356 sports coupe plus royalties being received from the even more successful Volkswagen allowed Porsche engineers to continue to refine the air-cooled flat-four engine they had developed almost two decades earlier. In 1950 Porsche targeted two new displacement sizes, 1,300 cc and 1,500 cc. Although there was a 1.3-liter race class in Europe, the primary rationale for selecting that size was likely to increase sales potential. The 1,300 cc Type 506 engine became available in 1951. An engine displacement of 1.5 liters equated to Europe’s favorite racing engine classification since the 1920s. Because bore size was limited, Porsche chose to increase the stroke by 10 mm and achieve a total displacement of 1,488 cc. To accomplish this they used a thirteen-piece, roller bearing crank built by Albert Hirth AG. Porsche’s new 1.5 liter engine was designated Type 502 and it produced 55 hp at 5,500 rpm. Only some sixty engines were built before it was succeeded by the more powerful Type 527 which produced 60 hp at 5,000 rpm. This is the breakthrough that permitted Porsche to feel they would be competitive in sports car racing. At Le Mans in 1951, Porsche demonstrated that they not only had a competitive engine but a car that could go the distance. It was called the 356 SL, a minimally modified version of the aluminum 356 that had been built in Austria. Their combined 1.5 liter engine and 356 SL car proved themselves capable in endurance efforts by setting 11 class records during 72 hours of continuous running at the Montlhéry circuit in France in September 1951. With these successful demonstrations behind them, the Porsche Werk felt itself in a very good position for the 1952 Mille Miglia.

Mille Miglia XIX Despite having over 300 cars running in each of the three prior years, the organizers felt they needed to attract more entrants in 1952. As a result, the race was expanded to 16 different classes including, strangely enough, one for military vehicles. The response was massive with over 600 applications received and 501 cars on

the starting ramp. The German Federal Republic had been readmitted to the FIA the previous year so two new factory teams were present, the Mercedes-Benz and Porsche Werk teams. Alfred Neubauer, a fine strategist and the man that guided Caracciola’s Mille victory in 1931, led the Mercedes effort. The Porsche team was led by Huschke von Hanstein. Von Hanstein, like Neubauer, was a Mille veteran having won for BMW in 1940. (The Mille Miglia was suspended in 1939 and many do not consider the shorter 1940 event, called the Mille Miglia Grand Prix, part of the regular series. For the purpose of this article, it is considered part of the series.) Great Britain was represented by works teams from Jaguar, Aston Martin and Healey. French builders included Renault and Panhard and the Italian manufacturers Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Ferrari were present, of course. Six 356s were entered into the 1952 Mille but there are conflicting stories as to how many were factory entries and how many were private entries. In the 1.1 liter Gruppo Sport di Serie (Production Sports Group) the #048 car was driven by Paul Fürst von Metternich and Wittigo Johann Georg Graf von Einsiedel and they finished first in class and 80th overall. The other 1.1 liter car, #50, was driven by von Frankenberg and Weiselman but failed to finish. Italian journalist (and sometimes Porsche driver) Giovanni Lurani declares these to both be factory entries while von Frankenberg claims them as private entries. The four 1.5 liter cars were in two different classes, #127 a steel Werks 356 SL was in Production Sports while #314, #322 (two steel cars) and #327 (an aluminum 356 SL) were in the Gruppo Gran Turismo Internazionale (Grand Touring International Group GTI). #314 was a private entry while #322 and #327 were entered under the auspices of Scuderia Patavium. It may seem strange as to the two different classes but a reading of the regulations seems to indicate that the cars were placed in different classes due to modifications. Regardless, #127 failed to finish the event but the three Porsche GTI cars took the top three positions in 1500 class. The class-winning car was piloted by Giovanni Lurani and Konstantin Berkheim who finished 46th overall. It was a very surprising result considering they drove the last two hundred miles entirely in third gear due to transmission failure. So regardless which were factory or private entries, the 356 Porsches did well in their first appearance at the Mille Miglia. Noteworthy was the effort put forth by Mercedes-Benz that year. They came with all the time, money, machines and people they needed

“Successes are no accident” was the headline on this first Porsche Mille poster from 1952. “In the world’s hardest road race, five Porsches start, four victories!” Interestingly, Porsche uses their entrants’ formal titles: Graf, Conti (Count) and Fürst (Prince), lending an air of nobility to the marque’s racing program.

to dominate the race. Led by Alfred Neubauer, the large German team arrived in Italy two months before the start of the race. They drove and memorized the course, practiced refueling stops, spied on their competition and planned strategy 24 hours per day. In the end, a 300SL driven by Kling and Klenk finished some 5 minutes behind the Ferrari 250S driven by Giovanni Bracco and Alfonso Rolfo. But Mercedes would be back. This might be a good point to describe how the cars were lined up for the Mille Miglia. Smaller displacement, i.e. slower, cars started first. This minimized the period roads had to be closed. Beginning in 1949 the car’s number indicated its start time. The race took over 12 hours so it was common for most cars to depart before dawn and arrive at the finish after dusk if they did manage to finish.

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Mille Miglia XX

“New Course Records in both Classes” - 1953 poster.

In 1953 the FIA changed regulations for the World Sports Car Championship. There were seven endurance events on the schedule. Five of these were closed circuits that included the Sebring 12 hours in Florida, the Le Mans 24 hours in France, the Spa-Francorchamps 24 hours in Belgium, the Nürburgring 1000 km in Germany and the Tourist Trophy at Dundrod in Northern Ireland. There were also two races held on public roads, Italy’s Mille Miglia and Mexico’s Carrera Panamericana. With the Mille Miglia part of the World Championship, the race attracted 481 highly competitive starters and no less than six factory teams in 1953. For Porsche however, the Italian event had lost much of its luster because the category which they favored, the 1500 cc Gran Tourismo Internazionale, had been eliminated. It had been replaced with strict homologation in the 2.0 and 1.3 liter Touring categories that required cars of less than 2 liters to have a minimum annual production of 1,000 cars to the same specification. During the prior year, Porsche had produced

over 1,000 cars but these were distributed over the different 1.1, 1.3 and 1.5 engine sizes. Interestingly, as Enzo so often did, he protested and, as was so often the case, Ferrari was granted an exception. The Mille-unique regulations still allowed for a 1300 and 1500 cc Sports Production category although the FIA did not recognize the results. It seems the additional classes were specifically retained by the Mille organizers to ensure large participation, including by Porsche and Simca. They accomplished this – 577 cars were entered and 490 started. As for Porsches, 18 private entries began the race in Brescia. The old Volkswagen gearboxes had proven to be a great liability in prior year races. So the big technical improvement for the 356 in 1953 was a new fully synchronized four-speed Type 519 transaxle and it immediately provided significant race performance improvements. Mario Favera proved over 10 kph faster on the same stretch that Lurani’s 356 SL had run in 1952. Results at the Brescia end point were similarly impressive. At race end, 283 cars arrived back at Brescia of which ten of these were 356s. The overall winner was a Ferrari 340, covering the course in just over ten and a half hours. In the FIA classifications, the best Porsche finish was Hans Hermann and Erwin Bauer, 11th in the 2000 Sports Car class and 30th overall. In the unofficial 1300 and 1500 Sports Car categories, Porsches took the top five and three spots respectively. Although it was primarily a Porsche versus Porsche battle in these classes, the company was proud of their accomplishments and produced a colorful XX Mille Miglia 1953 poster to commemorate the occasion. And why not? Overall only 58% of the cars starting even finished the race that year. (The Porsche attrition rate was about the same.) It could not have escaped the Porsche men’s attention that three small-bore sports cars finished ahead of the first Porsche. In 12th place overall, and first, second and third in the 1100 cc class were Osca MT4s. A light and agile, aluminum-bodied dedicated race car like the MT4 would bring glory to the Porsche marque, they knew, and just such a car was being developed in Stuttgart at that moment. Above: The 1953 Mille was not much of an event for Porsche because the classifications did not favor their engine sizes. Hans Hermann and Erwin Bauer (#438) took 11th in the 2000 Sports Car class and 30th overall. There were unofficial 1.3 and 1.5 liter classes in 1953 and these were primarily a Porsche versus Porsche battle. The lead car in this photo was raced by Aldo Conconi. The following car, #442, was manned by Hans Leo von Hoesch and Werner Engel who finished first in the unofficial Seriensportwagen 1300 class.

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Mille Miglia XXI In 1954, the route of the Mille Miglia was changed to go through the town of Mantova, the home town of Tazio Nuvolari. This was done to commemorate one of Italy’s most famous drivers who had died the previous August 11th. Another change was a new set of regulations in the Touring and Grand Touring category that favored smaller manufacturers such as Porsche. The first homologation session for the 1954 season was held in December 1953 to accept over-1500 and under-1500 cc cars in Grand Touring. The 1500 Super cars were homologated under the Sports Classification (formerly the Sport Production Class) and 1300 cars were in a Production Touring class. There was an international agreement in place that prohibited a car model from racing until 30 days after it was homologated. The rule affected how Porsche models were classified, resulting in Porsche team manager Huschke von Hanstein complaining during the first European races of the season. He wrote to the Automobile Club of Germany claiming the Automobile Club of Turin was unfairly excluding certain Porsche cars so that other manufacturers would dominate. You don’t need the benefit of hindsight to see that Von Hanstein’s criticism was most inappropriate since models made by Alfa and Fiat were being excluded in races for the same reason. In the prior year, the Porsche factory made several advancements which would influence its competitive edge during the 1954 race season. The 1300 Super engine now used a roller-bearing crank like the 1500 and 36% more horsepower for this displacement was on tap. Two special products that Porsche produced were the Type 550 and its accompanying four-cam engine. The 550 that Porsche would send to the 1954 Mille was a prototype with many improvements over its predecessors including a second generation Type 547/1 engine, extra driving lights, a fullyhinged rear deck and a short full-width windshield. The Porsche Spyder was numbered 351 and was piloted by Hans Hermann and Herbert Linge in the Sport 1500 class. The car left Brescia at 3:51 a.m. (per its race number) with Hermann driving and Linge shouting him instructions from the route notes they had built. At Padua, one of the first major towns through which the raced passed, an OSCA was out in front and setting a record pace. Along the west coast, just after the route turned east, Hermann’s Spyder made a maneuver that has gone down in Mille folklore. Approaching Chieti and traveling

Much of the 1954 event was over slick, rain-soaked roads and there were two fatalities among the drivers and navigators (a position that was now optional, and several drivers went the distance alone). Far from being obsolete, however, navigator Herbert Linge and his race notes proved to be a decisive advantage and allowed the team to take a sixth overall.

The 1954 adventures of Hans Herrmann & Herbert Linge in their 550 Spyder have been handed down in Mille folklore for sixty years. According to the legend, while traveling at very high speed, the Porsche team was surprised by a descending railroad crossing gate. The men crouched low and ducked under the gate seconds before a speeding train went through the crossing. Accurate or exaggerated, the noted German artist Carlo Demand made a drawing of the event which has become part of the colorful Mille Miglia story.

Another Porsche-related car that participated in the MiIlle was the Volkswagen. In 1954 the 1300-cc Porsche powered Volkswagen of Paul Ernst Strähle and Victor Spingler placed 43rd overall and 3rd in the S1.5 class. A ramification of this entry is that such cars are eligible in today’s Mille Miglia.

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at very high speed, the Porsche team was surprised by a descending railroad crossing gate. After an instantaneous mental debate as to if there was time to stop, Hermann pushed down on Linge’s helmet signaling his intent to blast under the gate. The men crouched low and their floor-it-and-duck maneuver was successful with support from a slower train and a crossing guard who held up the gate at the last moment. At 10 a.m., the red-finned, Hermann-Linge Spyder passed through Rome and headed back to the finish line. A rainstorm soon afterwards enveloped the racers and their four-cam died in the deluge. Linge, in addition to being a great driver and navigator, was as well an experienced

Following the 1954 race, the Porsche factory sent off a congratulory telegram to Hermann and Linge. Upon their triumphant return to Zuffenhausen, a celebration was held in the factory courtyard. Also taking part in the festivity was the 356 piloted by Richard von Frankenburg and Henrich Sauter (#229) which won the 1500 GT class.

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mechanic. So he went to work drying the electrical system and within 15 minutes, the car was again on its way to Brescia. The last half blast over the 990 miles of raceway brought them to a first in class, sixth overall finish. A very satisfying conclusion for Porsche over its nemesis OSCA which finished four places back. Richard von Frankenburg and Henrich Sauter also won the under 1500 GT class in a 1500 Super Coupe so when the factory cars returned to Stuttgart, a big celebration was held in the courtyard for driver, workers and staff. Again Porsche produced another vibrant commemorative poster, this time in the Italian flag colors of green, white and red. The third of the “Triple Class Victory” went to Walter Hampel and Wolfgang von Trips who drove a 1300 cc Coupe to 33rd place overall, four positions behind von Frankenberg.

Mille Miglia XXII Although Porsche’s 550 was the factory’s proud new race track warrior, it was the 356 that was irritating the Italians on their home turf. Journalist Giovanni Lurani documented the dismal situation in Auto Italiana as follows. “The 1300cc Grand Touring class saw the first fullscale duel between our almost debutante Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint and the proven Porsche Supers. The famous German cars scored a decisive victory. Our Alfa Romeos, too new and entrusted to private crews that were not up to the task, and in any case no better than the Germans, had to submit to the German cars driven by experienced, well-prepared men. The new Italian machines are authentic sports cars, as are the Porsches for that matter. It is not correct to claim that the Giuliettas are destined for exclusively touristic purposes. They are cars that have all the features and the layout of an agile small sports car and had they been prepared and supported during the race by the vigilant eyes of the manufacturer, things would have gone very differently. We should remember that the Porsche Supers derive directly from the Volkswagen and therefore cannot be considered as cars with a racing heritage. However, the Alfa Romeo Giuliettas demonstrated that they have

The 550 Spyder of Seidel and Glöckler took the honors in the Sport 1500 and 8th overall. For the 22nd running there were nine 1300 Super Porsches, seven 1500 Super 356s, and four Type 550s. Beginning the race there was a concern that OSCAs would be dominant but reliability proved to be a key and the Porsches persevered.

In the 1955 XXII MIlle the top two spots were taken by Mercedes-Benz 300 SLRs driven by Moss and Fangio. The SLR in this photo was driven by Karl Kling and failed to finish due to an accident. The Spyder sitting beside the Mercedes was driven by Araldo Sassone to 4th in the Sport 1.5 class and 44th overall.

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Class speed records highlighted the 1955 poster, and Porsche began referring to their “long” history of wins at the event.

the potential to be prepared to meet the challenge of the most well-proven foreign adversaries and we are in no doubt that the Portello firm will make good use of the experience gained. It was, when all is said and done, their first major appearance and a terribly demanding race; one can hardly expect a new car to be in perfect and definitive form immediately... The results achieved by the Italian industry were hardly brilliant. In all the classes and categories in which we encountered official or semi-official foreign works teams, we were beaten! We may present excuses, but the result remains and it is not comforting.” Lurani does not mention them by name, but the other German marque that embarrassed the Italians was Mercedes-Benz. For the first time in post-war history and for the third (and as it turned out, the final) time in the history of the Mille Miglia, an Italian car did not win the Mille. In 1955 a Mercedes 300 SLR driven by Stirling Moss took overall honors. While the 3 liter Mercedes was a truly remarkable car, much of the credit for the win was due to the studious efforts of Moss and his navigator British journalist Denis Jenkinson. Moss had three times run

the event for Jaguar and for 1955, the driver and navigator showed up a full month before the race for preparation. Daily they drove the course and detailed every feature on a 17 foot long scroll. Ferrari challenged them during the first half of the race but in the end the Mercedes persevered and set the all-time Mille fastest time of 10 hours, 7 minutes and 48 seconds. Behind them by 32 minutes was another 300 SLR driven by Juan Manuel Fangio and 13 minutes later the first Ferrari driven by Umberto Maglioli. For the 22nd running there were nine 1300 Super Porsches, seven 1500 Super 356s, and four Type 550s in the race. In the Gran Turismo 1300 class Richard von Frankenberg and Peter Oberndorf took the win with a 1500 Super 4½ minutes behind them, ranked with 300SLs, Aston-Martins and other big-bores in the “1300+ Grand Touring” class. The 550 driven by Wolfgang Seidel and Helmut Glöckler finished first in the Sport 1500 class some two hours after Moss. There was concern on the outgoing leg that an OSCA 1500 would dominate but their competitor retired before reaching Rome. Two other Spyders finished third and fourth in the same class, 23rd and 44th overall. Sandwiched in second was an OSCA MT4.

Mille Miglia XXIII

In the 1955 Gran Turismo 1300 class, Richard von Frankenberg took 1st and 21st overall. In 1956, Porsche did not have a lot to rejoice about. A 356 Carrera driven by Persson and Blomquist was the highest finisher – 18th overall and 1st in the GT1.6 class. A bit more special was the accomplishment of von Saucken and Bialas driving a 1500 Speedster and claiming first in the special open sports car 1.5 category.

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For the 1956 model year, Porsche made multiple changes. Production of the 1100 and 1500 Super had been halted leaving Porsche with a 1300, 1300 Super, 1500 four-cam and new 1600 and 1600 Super engines. In addition the (Pre-A) 356 models were discontinued and replaced by a new model, the 356A. For this 23rd Mille, weather conditions were terrible and, in retrospect, the dismal weather reflected Porsche’s result. In the 1300 GT class, the best Porsche finish was 4th, over an hour behind the leading Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce. In a new class for open sports cars costing less than £1,200, a Speedster took second in class. Of four Spyders in the Sports 1500 class, three retired. The surviving 550 driven by Rolf Knoch was a fourth in class, bettered by a dang OSCA MT4 and two Maserati 150Ss. The only bright spot was the 1600 Special Touring and Grand Touring Group class in which 356 Carreras took first through third in class, the winner being 18th overall back in Brescia.

The Last Great Italian Road Race For 1957 there were a total of 25 FIA approved racing classifications, Porsche had the same car models and engines and competed in three classes: Sport 1.5 and Grand Touring 1.3 and 1.5. In the 1.3 GT category they were very much outclassed by Alfa Romeo and Fiat but did much better in the other two brackets. In the 1.6 GT classification, 356 Carreras finished in the

top seven spots. In the 1500cc Sports Car class, Porsches filled the top three slots. The best run was in a 550A Spyder driven by Umberto Maglioli that took first in class and fifth overall. Somewhat surprisingly, it was a 1500 Speedster that was third in the 1500cc Sports Car class. Unfortunately, it was not racing achievements for which this Mille was remembered but rather for racing failures. Many accolades have been written about Alphonso Cabeza de Vaca y Leighton who is better known as the Marquis de Portago but some journalists write very bitterly about his actions in the final Mille Miglia. In their May 1957 issue, Sports Illustrated objectively described the events that took place about 25 miles from the finish line in these words: “The spectators who lined the road saw him coming—first a dot in the distance, looming larger every second. He must have been going 150 mph. Children tried to force themselves past the legs of their elders, up to the front of the crowd. There was a sudden report, followed by a hiss—a tire blowing out — and the dot that was De Portago, a red Ferrari by now, swerved violently. Its tail hit the bank at the left of the road. Then the car catapulted above the first line of onlookers, cut the telegraph wires above, and landed among the more timorous spectators who had stayed back for greater safety. Amid the shrieks of the injured and dying, De Portago died immediately, and with him his old friend, the 40-year-old American Edmund Nelson, who had come along for the ride. Nine spectators were killed with Nelson and De Portago, 20 others injured. The deaths of a Dutch amateur driver, Josef Gottgens, who crashed a Triumph TR 3 into a wall at Florence, and a motorcycle policeman, brought the toll to 13.” Others were not nearly as unbiased as SI. They note that de Portago was warned that he had a bad tire and foolishly pushed on at extreme speed feeling himself invincible. Journalist Don Vorderman, a man who has documented the Mille Miglia, wrote, “This shocking thing was caused by a witless mountebank (charlatan) with an obsessive compulsion to prove himself.” Add this transgression to the events of the previous year in which six died (and the 1955 tragedy at Le Mans) and it was clear that racing could not continue in this fashion. World champion racer Juan Manuel Fangio declared, “I shall never run in the Mille Miglia in the future because it is a race that is really too dangerous. I have tried it five times, and I have always seen that the risk is too great.” On May 15, 1957 the Italian government suspended racing on public roads indefinitely. The Mille Miglia did continue in 1958, 1959 and 1961 but the only feature those timed rallys had to do with the previous year’s races was the name and distance traveled. Italy’s greatest road race was finito.

A 356A Carrera driven by Paul Strähle and Herbert Linge took the honors in the Grand Touring 1.6 class. Below: Although the 24th Mille Miglia was marred by tragedy, Porsche accomplishments were noteworthy. In the #349 550 Umberto Maglioli came in 5th overall and first in the Sport 1500 class. Behind him in class was Heinz Schiller in car #354 who was 11th overall.

Right: “Horror In Italy,” is how SI headlined Alfonso de Portago’s accident in May 1957. 55 years later historians are divided as to whether he was a talented driver or just plain reckless. The event cast such a dark shadow over Italy’s Greatest Road Race that it would never again be the same. (Bahamas News Agency, courtesy Terry O’Neil)

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Re-Living the Italian Road Race Experience

Phil Carney he spirit of the Italy’s greatest road race was re-ignited in 1977 on the fiftieth anniversary of the original Mille Miglia. Since it was no longer possible to run without speed limits on public roads, the event was more a parade of cars than anything else. In 1982, Franco Mazzotti (a founder of the original event) and Countess Maggi (the wife of another founder), helped resurrect a new Mille Miglia as a competition trip across Italy. The Brescia Automobile Club—owners of the Mille Miglia—became heavily involved. To plan, fund and control the event over the long route from Brescia to Rome and back, a permanent organization was put in place. Instead of non-stop, top-speed driving, the format was a rally with precision trip times determining the winner. Response was overwhelming and by 1987 the revived Mille became an annual event. Even with this frequency, the number of drivers who wanted to have their car entered was still incredible. This meant that unless you had some political or factory connection, your chances of being accepted were very slim. The new Mille Miglia has been hugely successful with manufacturers, classic car owners and the car-loving Italian population. But there have been issues. Towns experienced a significant economic boost by being included along

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the route, so politics influenced the rally route each year. And despite the event no longer being a speed event, there were still some safety problems. The general public and polizia have always been highly aware of Mille days and make allowances for speeding cars. But there were those few drivers who thought they had the skills of Fangio and ignored safety. In 1990 accidents became an issue. However, the Mille Miglia of the late twentieth century was hugely popular with everyone and therefore timing regulations were refined to prevent abuse. Today, cars carry a GPS tracker and speed transponder to further enforce safety. The number of cars admitted now is almost four times the number that participated in the first revival in 1977 but fewer than half of the applications received each year are accepted. Only the cars most significant in the context of Mille Miglia race history are selected. All cars must have been manufactured between 1927 and 1957 and the model must have taken part in at least one of the original Mille Miglia races. Replicas, even partial ones, are not permitted. Furthermore, cars are required to have either an FIA Heritage Certificate, CSAI (Italian National Sporting Authority) papers and/or a Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens I.D. card. Currently 375 cars are entered each year. The organizers attempt to select vehicles proportioned to the number of car models that ran during the different years. Some 91 different manufacturers are recognized and although it

Top: Just as in the originals from the 1950s, Porsche road and race cars can be seen at the Italian revival every year. Route signs are still wrapped on trees, fences and walls to guide participants. Maltby photos. Above: At the California Mille, Jack and Kingsley Croul in a 1957 Coupe. Photo by Zach Hammer

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might not have crossed your mind, ten different U.S. car builders are eligible. Porsches have typically represented just less than 10% of the field. In 2011 there were twenty-seven 356s entered and eight 550s. Volkswagens from 1952 and 1953 are also eligible and accepted. During the opening day, cars are brought to the Fiera di Brescia for scrutineering and display. That evening a welcome dinner is held followed by the cars departing the Viale Venezia. The first cars arrive after the initial leg of their journey to Ferrara just after midnight. It is best to sleep instead of partying (although that doesn’t often work out) because the rally begins again at 8 the next morning and it is a +12 hour drive all the way to Rome. Again you can choose to party or sleep but the first cars will be leaving for the trip back to Brescia at 6:30 a.m. At 10:15 p.m. the cars begin arriving back at the start/finish line and are then moved to a public display area. There is plenty of sightseeing for drivers, navigators and the public – but the days are long.

Domestic alternatives If traveling with your car and navigator to Italy is beyond your means (and/or political connections), there are Mille tributes in the United States and other countries. The California Mille was organized by Martin Swig, who has driven the Mille in Italy twenty times, beginning in 1982. It was first run in October 1991 with the endorsement of both the Brescia Automobile Club and Alfa Romeo. The event begins at the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill in San Francisco and then wanders through California’s north coast wine country. The planners seek out a combination of great driving roads, light traffic, charming eateries and fine hotels. “It’s all about enjoying the cars,” says Swig, emphasizing that the event is not profit-centered. “We spend the money on the participants.” There is a pre-1958 rule in place but exceptions are made if they fit in with the spirit of the event. The bigger issue is fitting into the 60+ car limit that is routinely imposed. Usually about ten percent are 356s. This past October saw a new Mille Miglia commemorative added in the United States, the Mille Miglia North America Tribute (MNAT). Stratus Media Group secured the rights to stage the event, traveling coastal routes and historic back roads through California’s Central Coast, Monterey Peninsula, and San Francisco Bay Area. The late event seeks 1927 to 1957 cars, although other collector cars participate. Similar Mille re-creations are held in Japan (La Festa Mille Miglia), Argentina (1000 Millas Sport) and Australia (Melbourne Mille), and attract mostly participants from their respective countries.