The Mille Miglia, the legendary competition described as the “most beautiful race in the world”, is set to run for the 36th time this year with Alfa Romeo both as Automotive Sponsor and as ‘guest of honour’. The race will be run over the traditional Brescia-Rome-Brescia route and will mark the 90th anniversary of Alfa Romeo’s first victory in the legendary race, held from 1927 to 1957, with a special stage at Museo Storico Alfa Romeo in Arese.
On 1 April 1928 Giuseppe Campari and Giulio Ramponi recorded the first victory for Alfa Romeo in the 6C 1500 Super Sport. One of Vittorio Jano’s masterpieces, it was unbeatable thanks to its revolutionary mechanical design which included a fixed head and a supercharged engine. The extraordinary car covered the 1,618km course at a remarkable average speed of 84km/h, to obtain the first of Alfa Romeo’s 11 victories, seven of them in consecutive years, from 1932 to 1938: a record which can now never be beaten.
To celebrate these epic feats, from 19 May the Alfa Romeo Museo Storico at Arese, Milan, will be hosting the “11 volte campione” [11 times champion] exhibition. The exhibition, which will remain open until December 2018, will be open to visitors every day from 10 am to 6 pm (closed on Tuesdays).
On 19 May, for the first time its history, the Arese site will be welcoming a stage of the Mille Miglia, with the cars taking part able to compete in time trials on the museum’s internal track. Alfa Romeo owners and fans will be able to attend the event: for one day only, the museum entry ticket will also include access to the outdoor area and the circuit, as well as an exhibition of historic cars associated with the Mille Miglia, organised by the Italian Alfa Romeo Register.
The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team drivers, Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc, will also be present to experience how indelibly the racing world is engraved in the Alfa Romeo DNA.
Marcus Ericsson: “I am very happy that I will be taking part in the Mille Miglia. It is such an iconic event and it will be a special experience for me to attend it for the first time. Representing Alfa Romeo at this kind of event is something I am very proud of, and I look forward to seeing all of the historical cars there and why not driving one historical Alfa Romeo”.
Charles Leclerc: “It is a great honour for me to participate in an event as historical as the Mille Miglia. I have a huge passion for cars, and especially for historical cars, and will very much enjoy to see some of them at this event. It will be fun to drive the Stelvio Quadrifoglio through the city of Milan on this special occasion and also an historical Alfa Romeo”.
FCA Heritage, the Group department dedicated to protecting and promoting the historical heritage of FCA’s Italian brands, will enter several historic Alfa Romeo cars, normally exhibited at the Museum, into the event this year – 6C 1500 SS, 6C 1750 GS, 1900 SS and 1900 Sport Spider models.
Alongside these rarities, a fleet of 30 Giulia and Stelvio cars will be used as the official vehicles for the 2018 Mille Miglia. This will include the new Stelvio Quadrifoglio and Giulia Quadrifoglio, the finest expression of the new Alfa Romeo generation and adorned with the mythical badge awarded to the Italian brand’s highest-performing cars ever since 1923, showing the strength of the bond that links the cars of the past to those being built today.
Inaugurated on 24 June 2015, the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo is known as “The Time Machine”. It is the heart of a real ‘brand centre’, created by architect Benedetto Camerana in a major upgrade project, bringing together the brand’s past, present and future. As well as displaying the key models from the Alfa Romeo historic collection, the site contains the brand’s archives, an internal circuit, events spaces, the Alfa Romeo Café and a show-room with delivery area.
For information on the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo please visit www.museoalfaromeo.com. For more details about the Alfa Romeo range please visit www.alfaromeo.co.uk