For four days last week, about 900 drivers fired up around 450 real, live time machines and were transported back to the days of motor racing when men drove 1,000 miles over half of Italy at ridiculously reckless speeds in cars that ranged from unmodified street cars to some of the era’s most technologically advanced racing machines. Today, however, while the cars are the same and the drivers are every bit as adventuresome, the fierce non-stop racing has been replaced by a more sane series of timed rally-type stages and the speeds are not quite as reckless. But there is still the heat and the rain and the fatigue for today’s drivers, so it’s a serious challenge and not just a drive in the park. Even if they weren’t driving cars that are worth, in some cases, tens of millions of dollars.
Over the years, a number of BMW Car Club of America members have been fortunate enough to participate in the modern Mille Miglia driving significant vintage BMWs, primarily of the 328, 502, and 507 varieties.
This year, long-time BMW CCA member and BMW collector Scott Hughes was one of fewer than 50 Americans driving in the event. Scott Hughes should be a familiar name to many BMW CCA members. He and his wife Fran were named Friends of the Marque by the International Council of BMW Clubs in 2001, and for good reason. They organized the first BMW CCA chapter driving school and later, created the BMW CCA Club Racing Program, which celebrates its 20th season this year. Scott is an avid BMW collector and now serves as a trustee of the BMW CCA Foundation, a charitable organization that promotes the Street Survival teen driving safety program; the archiving of BMW and Club historical materials; and the conservation and preservation of BMWs.
In fact, Scott Hughes is the Foundation’s Chairperson for Preservation and Conservation, so it should not surprise anyone to find him in the driver’s seat of a 1939 BMW 328—and not just any 1939 BMW 328. Courtesy of BMW Group Classic, the car that Scott shared with BMW of North America VP Corporate Communications Alexander Bilgeri in this year’s event is the same BMW 328 Mille Miglia Roadster that finished fifth in the 1940 Mille Miglia when BMW took first place overall with its 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupé.
Ulrich Knieps, Head of BMW Group Classic discusses the significance of the BMW 328 Mille Miglia Roadster at Mille Miglia 2015.
Here is a presentation at the BMW Museum that goes into more detail about the BMW 328 Mille Miglia Roadster that Scott Hughes and Alexander Bilgeri drove in the 2015 Mille Miglia.
In this video, as Hughes, Bilgeri, and BMW AG Board of Management member Ian Robertson (who drove a different BMW 328) prepare for the start of the event, they discuss the Mille Miglia and what it means to be in the race and in a classic BMW.
The original Mille Miglia was first held in 1927. Except for 1941 to 1946 due to the war, it ran every year until 1957, at which point it was permanently cancelled after two accidents in which drivers and spectators were fatalities. In 1977, the event was resurrected as a touring-type rally. The current Mille Miglia runs a circuitous route from Brescia to Rome and back. Only cars representing models that ran the original Mille Miglia are allowed, which basically restricts entries to cars from around 1927 to 1957.
The 2015 Mille Miglia started in Brescia on May 14, 2015. Four days and 1,000 miles later, with overnight stops in Rimini, Rome, and Parma, plus a detour for some laps around the famous Autodromo di Monza, the competitors returned to Brescia for lunch and the awards ceremony.
So how did the team of Hughes and Bilgeri do in the 2015 Mille Miglia? A more than respectable 85th out of 452 entries. Being the very accomplished and competitive racecar driver that is his, the final finishing position would be important to Scott Hughes as a racer. But as a BMW enthusiast, collector, and student of motorsports history, competing in and completing the Mille Miglia, driving one of the most historic BMW race cars in history for four days over some of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe? We think that is a win for Hughes and Bilgeri. A big win.—Scott Blazey
[Videos courtesy of BMWUSA News and carshowclassic. Photos courtesy of BMWBLOG.]
