This post is a two-part piece About the storied Mille Miglia Race, and the Historic watchmaker Chopard- the world sponsor and the official timekeeper of Mille Miglia since 1988.

Part 1:

Today is the finish of The mille Miglia, It is Italy’s historic 1,000-mile race which was run annually from Brescia to Rome and back, from 1927 through 1940, and from 1947 through 1957. Hundreds of drivers,and cars have traversed this course, in its day it was the measure of a man and a showcase for a car manufacturer. It was a stage for showing off a drivers prowess, and the beauty and technology of a machine he was piloting.  This year is the 35th that the Mille will be run as a vintage racing event. There are a number of automakers whose classic models participated in the original event who have entered vehicles to relive former glories.

Bentley Motors will be entering two 1930’s “Blowers” Rolf Frech, Bentley’s Member of the Board for Engineering, who is leading the Bentley team at the Mille Miglia, comments: “It is a privilege for the team to drive these remarkable cars at the Mille Miglia as they embody so many of the qualities that set Bentley apart from other marques and W.O. Bentley’s brilliance as an engineer. We look forward to driving another thousand miles and setting a decent pace in the true Bentley tradition.”

BMW had really made its name competing in the Mille Miglia, where the 328 became legendary, their 328 Touring Coupé won outright in 1940. According to BMW: “The BMW 328 set benchmarks for lightweight construction and vehicle aerodynamics. This car laid the foundation stone for our success today in this area, A track record of numerous racing victories made the BMW 328 one of the most successful sports cars of its time at the close of the 1930s.

Jaguar is another automaker who used the original Mille Miglia as a springboard to greatness. This automaker will run six cars in the 2012 event, Jaguar Heritage Racing will field a six-car strong team in the 2012 Mille Miglia, at which, Jaguar celebrate the 60th anniversary of racing the C-type. According to Jaguar: “This year’s Mille Miglia is very significant for Jaguar. It marks both the acceleration of the Jaguar Heritage Racing programme, a living celebration of our rich heritage, and also a true milestone in the brand’s history of producing innovative technology”

Porsche is synonymous with racing, and competed in the original Mille Miglia. The Porsche museum is sending six sports cars to Brescia, Porsche notes: “The numbers 550 and 356 represent notable Mille Miglia successes for the Zuffenhausen sports car brand. ”

The Mille Miglia has always been about being fast, and being swell. 

Read the second part of this post all about the Chopard watch here.

(Images courtesy of: hemmings.com, wikipedia.com, bargain travel europe.com, and posh journeys.com)

Related articles

• This week’s Mille Miglia represents the 60th anniversary of the disc brake (gizmag.com)
• Jaguar in the running at Mille Miglia 2012 (misterjaguar.wordpress.com)
• Chopard and the Mille Miglia….II (howtobeswell.com)