In the automotive world, the Mille Miglia is one of the most exciting events in the calendar each year and it was fondly referred to by Enzo Ferrari as the most beautiful race in the world.

If you haven’t heard about it, sit back, relax and get ready to be impressed by this luxury Italian event.

Since 1927, this race has taken place in May every year in the northern Italian town of Brescia and it sees classic cars – which date before 1957 – travel 1,000 miles to see the town named as the centre of motorsports.

The race was the original brainchild of Aymo Maggi, Franco Mazzotti, Giovanni Canestrini and Renzo Castagneto, and it was these men who helped to create an event that was dangerous and brought Italian manufacturers back into the forefront of international racing.

Together, they drew out a map of Italy that was to be the 1,000 mile course that still runs from Brescia to Rome and back again to be named the Mille Miglia Cup.

Although it has always been a spectacle, now the Mille Miglia is also associated with exclusivity, as only cars that took part in the original race can be selected to participate in current years.

You’d think this would be a negative, but instead it has seen the event flourish and this year saw a list of 446 cars join together to head along the circuit. The models spanned years from 1927 to 1957 and were forged by luxury manufacturers, such as Ferrari, Jaguar, BMW, Zagato and Alfa Romeo, among others.

Authenticity is pride of place at the Mille Miglia, as each car has to have all of its original factory features in perfect working order.

There’s a prestige that effortlessly accompanies this race and this year saw Alfa Romeo maintain its reputation as the most successful manufacturer throughout the Mille Miglia’s history. The Italian brand won the race with a 1931 6C 1750 GS Zagato and a 1933 6C 1500 Grant Sport followed closely behind, taking third place.

Who’s going to be crowned the winner next year? It’s anyone’s guess, but if you want to be in on the action, we recommend you go to see it – it’s a guaranteed once in a lifetime experience.

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