Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 24, 2018

The Mille Miglia is going to America. One of the most famous car races in the world, the original Mille Miglia was held quasi-annually in the 30 years between 1927 and 1957 on a 1,000-mile (1,609km) circuit that formed a bent loop between Brescia, Bologna, Rome, and Milan. Italian cars such as Alfa Romeos, Maseratis, Lancias, and Ferraris dominated the race, as did Italian drivers, but famed marques like Jaguar, Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes also participated, as did some American brands.

After a pair of spectacular and lethal crashes in the late 1950s, the race was ended. It was reborn in the late 1970s as a vintage car rally along a similar route. Open only to vehicles that competed, or would have been eligible to compete, in the original races, it now draws an annual field of hundreds of vehicles, including classics, ranging in price from five to eight figures, with a racing, and winning, pedigree.

Now, for the first time, a foreshortened (150-mile) version will be held in the US from tomorrow to Saturday in the horse country of Virginia and Maryland surrounding Washington, DC. A gala party will be held at the Italian ambassador’s, Villa Firenze, residence, a mansion in Rock Creek Park, a home formerly belonging to the Guggenheim family.

“This is the very first event our organisation is going to organise outside the border of Italy,” said Francesca Parolin, the general manager of the tour, often called the 1000 Miglia. “And this is all part of the bigger strategic plan that our board decided to put into activation, a global expansion of the Mille Miglia brand all over the world.”

Entry requirements are similar to the Italian version. Exclusive entrée is available to vehicles that would have been eligible to run in the original, mid-20th century 1000 Miglia. But there is a twist: an emphasis on celebrating American vehicles.

“For the second Italian Mille Miglia, in 1928, the winner of the first Mille Miglia drove a Cadillac and won his class,” said Mark Gessler, the president of the Historic Vehicle Association, a non-profit organisation that works with the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress to preserve and promote America’s automotive heritage. The association is a key partner on the American 1000 Miglia. “Ford V-8s were run in the 30s in the Mille Miglia. Even one of the first Ford Thunderbirds back in the mid-50s ran the race.”

This first running of the American 1000 Miglia features many of the aforementioned European marques but also hosts a few important American vehicles — and will feature even more in subsequent years as the field and race distance grow. Here are some of the most notable and valuable of the dozen-and-a-half entries that will take part in late October. — Bloomberg

 

 

1954 Oldsmobile Super 88

In the mid-50s, the growling 5.1-litre “Rocket 88” V-8 engine in this Oldsmobile was the top performance offering from General Motors (GM) and the motor of choice for Nascar racers. GM was promoting Oldsmobile as a global brand at the time, trying to garner export sales overseas. This helps explain why a beastly Oldsmobile Super 88 raced in the 1954 1000 Miglia. Its giant bulbous form must have been quite a sight attempting to squirt along those narrow Italian village streets, engine roaring. Value: US$30,000 (RM124,800) to US$60,000

 

 

1950 Jaguar XK120 Alloy Roadster

The streamlined XK120 was Jaguar’s first post-war sports car, and it was a hit on and off the track. The 120 in its name referred to its top speed (it has actually hit 132mph), which made it the world’s fastest production car at the time. So alluring was it that Clark Gable, Lauren Bacall, and Humphrey Bogart all ordered one. A Jag never won the original Mille Miglia, but many ran in it. This is one of just 184 lightweight, alloy-bodied, left-hand-drive (American market) cars, increasing its value significantly. Value: US$450,000 to US$550,000

 

 

1927 Cadillac LaSalle, Roadster

Harley Earl invented the automotive design department, founding one at GM in the 1920s. This was his first design. The LaSalle was an entry-level Cadillac but showcased colourful styling and a fierce V-8 motor. After winning the first Mille Miglia in 1927, Fernando Minoia was persuaded to drive a new LaSalle in the 1928 race. While he won his class, he lost the race by two hours to a more nimble Alfa Romeo. Fewer than 10 LaSalle roadsters are believed to exist today. Value: US$125,000 to US$175,000

 

 

1928 Alfa Romeo SS 1500 Atcherley

Ninety years ago, Alfa won its first Mille Miglia with a car like this, a six-cylinder 1.5-litre Super Sport (SS). These models received a major power boost from a supercharger, which forces more air into the engine’s combustion chamber (like blowing on a campfire). This particular example had its sporting bodywork created by the famed Atcherley coachbuilders in England, and the car is currently owned by an Atcherley family member. It was shown this summer at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Value: US$1,500,000 to US$2,500,000

 

 

1928 Bugatti Type 40 Grand Sport

Bugattis have long been among the world’s most unique, valuable, and high-performing vehicles. The Type 40 Grand Sport took the boat-tailed shape of the brand’s race-winning Grand Prix cars of the era and lengthened it proportionally to accommodate four seats. Wearing traditional “French Blue” paint, the racing colour for the country of Bugattis’ manufacture, this particular car was exhibited at the Pebble Beach Concours in 2016 and driven successfully in the Mille Miglia in 2018. Value: US$500,000 to US$800,000

 

 

1933 Alfa Romeo GS 1500 TF Zagato

Alfa Romeos won 10 of the first 12 Mille Miglias and more than half of the original 24 races overall. This exact Alfa won its class in 1934, though it lost the race to another Alfa. It had its revenge this summer by winning the 2018 Mille Miglia vintage rally in Italy. Back in the 30s, this vehicle was part of the legendary Scuderia Ferrari, the racing team that Enzo Ferrari started with Alfa Romeos before he went on to launch his own car company. Note the Ferrari prancing horse on its hood. Value: US$4,000,000 to US$5,000,000

 

 

1956 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce Alleggerita

The suffixes in this lovely Alfa’s name, Veloce Alleggerita, means “faster and lightened” in Italian. This makes perfect sense, because it hosts a highly tuned, higher-output version of the base model’s sporty 1.3-litre, twin-cam, four-cylinder engine, and a body weight which has been reduced through the use of aluminium in the doors, trunk, and hood. This very car competed in the final, original 1000 Miglia race, back in 1957, providing a price-tag-enhancing value. Value: US$300,000 to US$400,000

 

 

1957 Ferrari 250 GT Boano Coupe

Back in the 1950s, the prancing-horse brand focused on its famed 12-cylinder engines and drivetrains; body design and production were handled by private coachbuilders. Early in the run of this model, the Series 2 250, typical Ferrari coachbuilding accomplice Pininfarina was busy building a new facility, so a select number of these cars was designed and built by a competitor, Boano. Just 12 of these beautiful low-roofed coupes were built with a lightweight aluminium body, yielding great exclusivity and value. Value: US$1,500,000 to US$2,000,000

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