- Mille Miglia road race begins in Brescia, Italy.
- The event is a marathon rally for historic sports cars.
- 375 cars will compete in the race that ends Saturday.
BRESCIA, Italy — More than half a century since the original event ended in turmoil and death, the Mille Miglia — Italian for "Thousand Mile" — road race lives on in a classic rally that kicked off here today.
However, the new iteration is a much tamer version of the spectacle that was staged 24 times between 1927 and 1957. The original open-road competition was banned after a crash during the 1957 event killed 15 people, including driver Alfonso de Portago, his co-driver/navigator and 13 spectators.
Piero Taruffi drove a Ferrari 315 Sport to that final victory in the tragedy-marred 1957 race. Other winners through the years included pre-World War II greats Rudolf Caracciola (1931), Tazio Nuvolari (1930 and 1933) and postwar legends Alberto Ascari (1954) and Stirling Moss (1955).
The modern event was first held in 1977, on the 50th anniversary of the event's beginning. It is a timed rally for historic sports cars that were made during the years of the original event. Like the original, it follows 1,500 kilometers, or 1,000 miles as measured by the Romans, from Brescia to Rome and back. The routes cross in Bologna, making a figure-eight shape. "The most beautiful dreams never die," in the words of the event's Web site.
The field is now limited to 375 cars, with each owner paying an entry fee of about $7,600. The first car was to roll off the starting line at 7:30 this evening local time, following a day of scrutineering and public display and a buffet dinner at the Mille Miglia Museum.
An eye-popping and nostalgia-inducing group of cars is on the participant list, including a Mercedes-Benz 300SL, Lancia Aurelia, Aston Martin DB2 Vantage, OSCA 750S, Fiat 100S and other prime examples of sport and grand touring cars of the first half of the 20th century.
The event is scheduled to conclude around midnight local time Saturday. A live feed is available online for those who want to make the virtual tour along with the historic racers.
Inside Line says: The carnage-filled days of the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio and the New World's Carrera Panamericana are long gone, but the Brescia Automobile Club attempts to re-create the spirit of the legendary race. — David Green, Correspondent
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