GQ India – July 2019

JULY 2019 — 125

IMAGE: ©1000 MIGLIA

The long way round

The Mille Miglia, a four-day race that covers 1,600km from Brescia to Rome and back in a loose

figure-8 route, has been described as “the most beautiful race in the world”. We call shotgun

F

ew things are more

Italian than the sight

unfolding before

me this cold spring

morning in Brescia: A

string of classic cars

are lined up facing the Duomo

Vecchio and the Duomo Nuovo

(the Old and New Cathedrals) in

a sleepy piazza. The crowd that’s

gathered to admire them includes

silver-haired Italian gents in

impeccably cut camel-colour

coats, toddlers swaddled in

blankets and journalists from

across the world. Alfa Romeos

dominate the line-up, but there

are also vintage Bentleys,

Bugattis, Porsches and Ferraris.

It’s easy to see why the cars,

all produced between 1927 and

1957, elicit so much interest.

There are retro colour palettes

(Rosso Corsa red, sky blue,

pastels); gorgeous typefaces

(Superleggera, Giulietta Sprint);

exquisite badges (Bertone).

There are also elaborate grilles

and horns you can toot, frog eye

headlights and leather straps

that tie bonnets shut. Inside are

sumptuous bucket seats and

metal dashboards with wide-

eyed dials and an array of metal

toggle switches, giving the cars a

distinctively tactile quality. Each

car has a story and a personality,

oozing character.

The drivers piloting these

million-euro babies are an equally

eclectic lot: bankers and Michelin-

starred chefs, a pediatrician and

tech entrepreneurs, past Le Mans

winners and a smattering of

former F1 drivers. Designer Marc

Newson is here, as is actor Scott

Eastwood, today driving a silver

Porsche 550 Spyder, the kind

James Dean drove. Participants

are often decked out in retro

gear, donning matching driver’s

suits, pilot-style helmets, goggles,

leather gloves and custom driving

shoes. But this isn’t only a matter

of style. Since most of these cars

are open, drivers are vulnerable

to the elements – rain, snow,

blistering heat – as they zing past

the Adriatic coastline through

national parks, crossing mountain

passes and historic city centres,

often driving for more than 12

hours a day and completing

challenging time trials enroute

(the Mille Miglia is a regularity

race, rather than an all-out speed

race to the finish line.)

The route changes a little every

year, and this one, on the occasion

of Leonardo da Vinci’s 500th death

anniversary, passes through his

hometown of Vinci. It also goes

through Parma, designated the

Italian capital of culture for 2020.

Along the course of the four days,

meals are organised at lesser-

known historic sites, including

the Loggiato di San Francesco in

Fabriano and the Palazzo Pubblico

in Siena, giving participants the

chance to soak in the best of Italian

art, cuisine, beauty and design.

Chopard has partnered with

the prestigious rally since the

late 1980s, thanks to co-president

Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s passion

for both classic cars and racing. He

got it from his father, he says, who

still takes his car out for a “300- to

400-kilometre” drive after a day’s

work, in his 90s. Scheufele nips

out of the Chopard VIP Lounge

to park the strawberry metallic

Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Gullwing”

he’ll be driving later this afternoon

with his daughter Caroline-Marie.

ROMA

BOLOGNA

BRESCIA

CERVIA MILANO

MARITTIMA

When he’s back, he describes the

allure of the race. “Here in the

Mille Miglia in Italy, the people,

the spectators, the cars, they

create a perfect synergy, and there

is a very special ambience... When

you close the door of the car, it’s

like stepping into a time capsule.

You really begin to understand

what it meant to do the Mille

Miglia race in those days,” he says.

The classic car collector has

completed this quirky, obscure

race over 30 times: with his father,

his wife – before they got married,

as well as to celebrate their 10th

anniversary – and close friend, the

Belgian driver Jacky Ickx, whom

he met at the race years ago, and

who is present at this edition too.

“The segment between Rome and

Florence, which takes about half

a day, is one of my favourites,” he

smiles. “The countryside is just

breathtaking. You go up and down,

it’s hilly and you cross medieval

villages. All along, you have people

waiting for you and cheering you

on. In the past, we’ve seen that

some villages managed to make

the Mille Miglia turn to visit

them. And it isn’t planned in the

roadbook, but this is how far the

passion goes.”

As the official timekeeper and

historic partner, Chopard produces

limited-edition racing watches

every year that channel the spirit

of the rally, with specific design

accents that evoke the world of

the early days of motor sport and

classic cars. Dials are given bright

pops of colour that hark back to

the racing colours assigned to

specific nations. For example:

Rosso Corsa for Italy, Speed Silver

for Germany, British Racing

Green, Vintage Blue for France

WRITTEN BY SHIKHA SETHI