After being delayed due to the pandemic, the UAE finally gets a 1600-mile classic car race called the 1000 Miglia Experience or the ‘Mille Miglia’. Over AED 551 million worth of vintage cars, some dating back to 1927, will travel across all seven emirates from December 4-8. Read on to know more:
World’s Oldest Vintage Car Rally – Mille Miglia In The UAE
The Mille Miglia originated in Italy, with the first race taking place way back in 1926, and is considered to be ‘the most beautiful race in the world’.
The race will start from Dubai Creek Golf Club on December 5th, and finish off at the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi on December 8th. There will be 100 teams competing and vintage cars are being flown into the UAE from across the world including the UK, the US, Germany, Italy, India, Switzerland and Lebanon. The inaugural UAE edition is an invitation-only event for 100 drivers of “landmark automobiles, from legendary classics to iconic supercars of the modern era, sourced from all over the world”. 60 of these drivers will be from the Arabian Peninsula and 40 from other countries.
According to Martin Halder, CEO of Octanium – one of the organizers of the event – the cars will be classified into three classes and will have a driver, and co-pilot in every car.
Original Mille Miglia class:
Cars manufactured between 1927-1957
There will be 17 cars competing in this category.
Jubilee class:
Manufactured between 1957 and 1971, to honour the founding date of the UAE
There will be 83 cars competing in this category.
Contemporary cars:
Cars manufactured after 1971
There will be 20 cars competing in this category.
The timekeepers and timekeeping equipment will be shipped in from Italy to ensure precision in time.
Alberto Piantoni, the CEO of 1000 Miglia said, “For the first time in these territories, it will be possible to see the parade of cars that have too often remained closed in museums and in the garages of private collections. It will be a 360-degree driving experience that car racers in the UAE would have never experienced before.”
UAE Historian Will Be Competing In The ‘Popemobile’ Gifted To Mother Theresa
UAE-based motoring historian Mohammed Luqman Khan, will be competing in a 1964 Lincoln Continental, which was gifted to Mother Teresa by Pope Paul IV. The 4-door convertible is popularly called the Popemobile! Designed by Elwood Engel, this is the only Lincoln that will be participating in the rally.
Khan said, ““It is going to be challenging for sure but exhilarating as well. I have been living in the UAE for over 12 years, but I have never taken the route that this rally has gone through. What better way to do it than in this legendary rally that is known as the most beautiful race?”
Incidentally, he was the man who shot to fame for finding and restoring Sheikh Zayed’s old Rolls Royce.
Vintage Cars Participating In Mille Miglia
Some of the cars that will be participating in the Mille Miglia include:
- 1927 OM 665 “Superba”- a similar model won the first 1000 Miglia in 1927
- The highest number of Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwings – widely considered the fastest car in the world in the 1950s – ever seen in the UAE, with 10 owners set to attend
- 1952 Porsche 356 which competed in the famously gruelling South American 1953 Panamericana rally, with Gautamalan coffee mogul Manfredo Lippman at the wheel
- 1958 Messerschmitt FMR TG 500 Roadster – the smallest and boldest vehicle in the event
- 1958 Ferrari 250GT California LWB Spyder – one of the rarest and most valuable Ferraris ever made
- 1964 Lincoln Continental – bought by the then-Pope for his tour of India in 1964. It was then presented to Mother Teresa to be auctioned off for charity, and remains in India to this day
- 1977 Lamborghini Countach LP400 ‘Periscopo’ – the first version of the legendary Countach supercar.
How To Witness The Vintage Car Rally In Dubai?
While the official race begins on December 5th, all the super cars are open to fans to see on December 4th at the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club.
Get more details here
Contact: +971 2 628 0568
The racecourse will traverse iconic locations including Jebel Jais, Downtown Dubai and Emirates Palace of Abu Dhabi.
To get you started, take a look at this video from the 2022 race that took place in Italy this year:
