Driving the Mille Miglia

Legendary race. Exciting display, on one side, of classic cars, and on the other of boundless enthusiasm. What else is the Mille Miglia?

It is—to put it nicely—a genuine test of man and machine, or to be more accurate, men, women, and machine, as there were numerous cars co-piloted by co-ed teams and several with all-women teams. The cars are driven all day for a half day, three whole days, and another half day. We were told at the start that as many as a third of the cars usually drop out, but we were not able to confirm this claim. The Mille Miglia organizers provide technical assistance, in the form of SUVs that follow along with tools and two riding mechanics. (Numerous participants in the Mille Miglia bring their own, private technical assistance, one registration option being back-up crew and vehicles. We encountered small groups of contestants who had grouped together to hire their own private technical back-up.)

In our one mechanical issue during the event (our fan belt slipped off the generator pulley—fortunately we caught it before any engine damage occurred), a technical assistance car pulled up and two mechanics jumped out before we could even begin to wonder what we were going to do next. They re-installed the fan belt, and when we stopped again about ten minutes later to check whether there was still coolant in the radiator (fortunately in the 1900, being an old car, the cooling system is not pressurized, so it was safe to remove the radiator cap and inspect), two more cars, and four more mechanics promptly stopped. One of these mechanics had a very large container of distilled water and promptly poured two liters into our dry-looking radiator.

The vehicles, therefore, are tested. So too the drivers and co-pilots, and not just by the lack of sleep. The open cars suffered on the rainy day (Cervia to Rome); apparently it always rains at least one day during the Mille Miglia. The closed cars (obviously not air-conditioned) suffered on the hot, sunny days. Mercedes 300SL Gullwings are, apparently, especially uncomfortable in the heat, as their doors have too little space for the side windows to roll up and down. Many was the time, when we were stuck in traffic or creeping through a town center, that we saw a Gullwing drive by with both doors wide open.

Stuck in traffic? Yes, several times a day. Punning on Dante’s Inferno’s seven rings of hell, Stefan christened “the seven rings of roundabouts,” series of roundabouts that backed up both normal and Mille Miglia traffic.

What else is the Mille Miglia? It is very rich people (mostly older men, but not always, thanks to the all-women teams) doing crazy things with cars worth six or seven (or more) figures. Such as? At those traffic back-ups at sequences of roundabouts, many of the Mille Miglia participants would drive fairly fast down the center of the road, between the oncoming traffic and our own lane. They would run red lights with impunity and merge into roundabouts when they should have been yielding to the traffic already in the roundabout. Sometimes a motorcycle policeman led the way through such madness, but not always. When we were stuck in traffic, we hesitated to take on our own to the middle of the road. But if a series of faster cars blasted by (often Triumphs, Healeys, Gullwings, and Porsches), we would pull out and follow them. Amazingly, at the traffic lights and roundabouts, the normal traffic would often yield voluntarily, although when we would come along at the end of such a group of interlopers, the normal traffic would not always notice us. It appears that a Pininfarina-bodied 1900 coupe looks subdued after a brace of open 1950s sports cars and Porsches and Gullwings (especially if riding with their doors open) has passed by.

It had long been my hope that one day I too might watch the Mille Miglia pass by. Other AROC members share this hope. In fact, before the start, in Brescia, I ran into a group of AROC members from Oregon who had made the trip in order to watch the start of the 2023 Mille Miglia. I proudly showed them the AROC sticker on the back window of our 1900. Actually participating in the Mille Miglia had always been beyond my wildest dreams. But now it is a dream come true, and one I will always remember. If you love Italy, automotive history (especially race history), and classic cars, especially Alfas, do not hesitate if ever you are offered the opportunity to participate in the Mille Miglia. In spite of the physical discomfort of riding all day in an old car, in spite of the risk of mechanical break down (or worse), in spite of the traffic jams, and in spite of the lack of sleep, it is all an unforgettable experience. Seeing the delight in the eyes of spectators makes it ever so worthwhile.

Maybe some day I will have an opportunity to walk on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera, although I know I will never be able to sing like Luciano Pavarotti. Nor will I ever be able to hit a baseball like Ted Williams, or dunk a basketball, like countless other players. But I can say that I have followed in the tracks of Tazio Nuvolari and Stirling Moss, and I’m satisfied with that.