1000 "Mille Miglia" -- May 16-19, 2018

Mille Miglia 1952: Premiere of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL racing sports car (W 194). The team Rudolf Caracciola / Peter Kurrle (start number 613) finishes in 4th place, 3/4 May 1952.

Mille Miglia 1931: The eventual winner Rudolf Caracciola at the start in a Mercedes-Benz SSK, 12 April 1931.

It is one of the most fascinating events on four wheels: as an automotive sponsor of the race, Mercedes-Benz will once more field a large contingent of vehicles and famous drivers at the “ 1000 Miglia” 2018. This year, the “1000 Miglia” will take place from 16 to 19 May 2018. The close ties between the thousand-mile race in Italy held since 1927 and the brand bearing the three-pointed star go back almost 90 years.

Over nine decades, Mercedes-Benz has achieved numerous successes at the Italian “Mille Miglia” road race from Brescia to Rome and back. The greatest successes include the victory of Rudolf Caracciola as the first non-Italian driver in 1931, and the sensational success of Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson in 1955, with the overall victory and a still unbeaten record time of 10 hours, 7 minutes and 48 seconds.

Based on the historical ties, Mercedes-Benz supports the “Mille Miglia” as an automotive sponsor. Since 1977, the event has been held as a regularity rally for historic automobiles. The Stuttgart-based brand continues the partnership with the organisers in 2018 as well. Mercedes-Benz will be present at the starting and finishing line in Brescia, along the some 1,600-kilometre route and in the competition itself with a host of vehicles from the corporate collection.

In 2018, a large contingent of the Mercedes-Benz models SSK (W 06), 300 SL “Gullwing” (W 198), 190 SL (W 121) and 220 “Ponton” (W 180) vehicles will be lining up at the start in Brescia. Among others, Mercedes-Benz Classic brand ambassadors Roland Asch, Ellen Lohr, Bernd Mayländer and Bernd Schneider will be at the wheel of the vehicles.

Today’s version of the “1000 Miglia” is run on a route which closely follows that of the original road race. This year, the first stage (16 May 2018) will lead from Brescia to Cervia-Milano Marittima, and then on to Rome on the second day (17 May). The route to Parma is on the agenda on the third day (18 May), before the rally returns to Brescia on the fourth day (19 May). Entry is restricted to vehicle models that already participated in the famous Italian road race during the period from 1927 to 1957.

Museo Mille Miglia: Public starting ramp with famous racing cars

The ties between the brand and the racing tradition are also underlined by the cooperation between Mercedes-Benz Classic and the Museo Mille Miglia in the historical monastery complex of Sant’E ufemia della Fonte just outside Brescia. This year, Mercedes-Benz is putting on an extraordinary special exhibition in the courtyard of the museum: every visitor can drive his vehicle on a starting ramp as is typical for the Mille Miglia. He can position his vehicle for a photo between two famous Mercedes-Benz racing cars which caused a sensation at the Mille Miglia with their successes: the 300 SL racing sports car (W 194) from 1952 (2nd and 4th place) and the 300 SLR (W 196 S) from 1955 (1st and 2nd place). This staging can be seen and used from 10 May to 21 June 2018.

Mercedes-Benz “1000 Miglia Challenge 2018”

The regularity rally through the heart of Italy is one of the most exciting events globally in the automotive classic world. Apart from the actual competition, this is also down to programme items such as the Mercedes-Benz “1000 Miglia Challenge 2018”. This exclusive regularity rally takes place to commemorate the great triumphs of the Mercedes-Benz brand in the original competition.

The participants in the Mercedes-Benz “1000 Miglia Challenge” will drive ahead of the classic cars on the same route and will compete in the same special stages. Vehicles permitted to take part in the Challenge are Mercedes-Benz SL models of various generations and vehicles from Mercedes-AMG plus models of particular historical value from the product history.

Historical ties between “Mille Miglia” and Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz and the “Mille Miglia” are very closely linked through their shared history. The German brand has taken part since 1930 and thus almost since the very first running of the race. At this début event, works driver Rudolf Caracciola with his co-driver Christian Werner immediately took 6th place with a Mercedes-Benz SSK (“Super Sport Short”). One year later Caracciola won the 1931 Mille Miglia as the first non-Italian driver with his co-driver Wilhelm Sebastian in a Mercedes-Benz SSKL (“Super Sport Short Light”).

In 1952, the thousand-mile race then provided the arena for the première of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL racing sports car (W 194), the brand’s first newly developed racing car following the Second World War. In 1955 Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson drove the 300 SLR racing sports car (W 196 S) to overall victory ahead of their team mate Juan Manuel Fangio. Also triumphant were the 300 SL “Gullwing” sports cars (W 198) in the Gran Turismo class over 1,300 cc displacement, and the 180 D (W 120) won a victory in the diesel class. In 1956, in addition to several 300 SL “Gullwing” cars and three luxury class saloons of the 220 “Ponton” (W 180) model, a privately entered Mercedes-Benz 190 SL (W 121) also competed successfully in the race.