This year sees the ninetieth anniversary of the first of Alfa Romeo's eleven victories in the Mille Miglia, which was held annually between 1927 and 1957, and it’s a record that will now never be beaten.
To mark this amazing anniversary, the 36th historic re-evocation of the "most beautiful race in the world" will pass by the recently renovated Museo Storico Alfa Romeo, named "La macchina del tempo".
This year’s edition of the re-run will take place from 16 to 19 May on the traditional Brescia-Rome-Brescia course. An unmissable event that Alfa Romeo will attend as a sponsor and as a "guest of honour".
A quartet of historic Alfa Romeo cars – the 6C 1500 SS, 6C 1750 GS, 1900 SS and 1900 Sport Spider models – from the FCA Heritage collection, the Group's department dedicated to protecting and promoting the historical heritage of FCA's Italian brands, will be also be taking part in the Brescia-based event. Alongside these four rarities will be thirty new Giulia and Stelvio cars, serving as official cars for the 2018 Mille Miglia.
Celebratory visit to the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo - "La macchina del tempo"
It was on 1 April 1928 that Giuseppe Campari and Giulio Ramponi reached the top step of the podium with the 6C 1500 Super Sport, one of Vittorio Jano's masterpieces, unbeatable thanks to its revolutionary mechanical design, including a fixed head and a supercharged engine. The extraordinary car covered the 1,618 km course at a remarkable average speed of 84 km/h, to obtain the first of Alfa Romeo's 11 victories, 7 of them in consecutive years, from 1932 to 1938.
The brand will celebrate this anniversary with a series of special events. In one of the most deeply significant, on Saturday 19 May the Mille Miglia will visit the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo, named "La macchina del tempo", where the competitor cars will take part in a time trial on the in-house circuit at the Arese site.
It is an original way to celebrate the Alfa Romeo legend and pay homage to the 69 models on display inside the museum, which have written some of the finest pages in the history of world motor sports: from the first A.L.F.A. model(24 HP) to the famous 6C 1750 Gran Sport which won the Mille Miglia driven by Tazio Nuvolari, and from the Gran Premio 159 "Alfetta 159" - victorious in the Formula 1 World Championship with Juán Manuel Fangio at the wheel - to the splendid 33 TT 12.
Four rare Alfa Romeo cars at the classic race
Several classic Alfa Romeos from FCA Heritage, will be present at the event in Brescia. In particular, the eyes of all fans will be on the 6C 1750 Gran Sport, the legendary model which Tazio Nuvolari and Giovanni Battista Guidotti drove to victory in the Mille Miglia at 1930. As well as the legendary "overtaking without lights" episode, this was also the race when Nuvolari achieved the unprecedented feat of averaging 100 km/h over the entire course. The bodywork was created by Milan coachbuilder Zagato.
The second car taking part is another piece of history: it is a 1928 6C 1500 Super Sport, with bodywork by Stabilimenti Farina, which won the historic re-evocation of the Mille Miglia in 2005, in 2007 – when it was also victorious in the "Mille Millas Sport" in Argentina – and in 2008. The vehicle is equipped with a 6-cylinder, 1487 cc engine, which delivers maximum output of 76 HP at 4,800 rpm, reaching a top speed of 140 km/h. Thirty one of these cars were built between 1928 and 1929.
Also tackling the 2018 Mille Miglia course will be a 1956 1900 Super Sprint and a 1954 1900 Sport Spider. The first of these is a coupé with Touring bodywork, the "gran tourism" version of the 1900, the model that became famous in the 1950s for its advertising slogan: "the family car that wins races".
The 1900 SS is no newcomer to the Mille Miglia, since in the 1950s, when the competitive race was still being held, it was the car of choice of many "gentlemen" drivers, on account of its superb performance and reliability.
At its side, the 1900 Sport Spider of 1954 produced in just two units. Equipped with the 4-cylinder twin-cam dry sump "1900" engine, with maximum power boosted to 138 HP, this racing roadster reaches speeds of 220 km/h, thanks to a weight of just 880 kg and particularly efficient aerodynamics. With its Bertone design, the 1900 Sport Spider comes with a 5-speed transmission and a De Dion rear axle: performance and handling worthy of a modern car, responsive and reliable, with outstanding road-holding abilities.
