The Legacy of the Mille Miglia - Part 3: The post-war Mille Miglia. The magnificence of courage, the thrill of risk
22 November 2025 2 min read 4 images
Photo credit: 1000 Miglia, BMW, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche
The immediate post-war period was a time of genuine revolution for the automobile: an exclusive and almost always unattainable commodity in the past, it became accessible to ever-new segments of the public, and the thrill of turning it into a racing car captivated everyone. What better opportunity than the Mille Miglia to compete on everyday roads? The great race resumed in 1947. In fact, it exploded in terms of the number of participants and international appeal. Manufacturers understood its great promotional role and, year after year, the list of participants grew, with an increasing number of non-Italian teams. Often, those who took to the starting line in Brescia were not private individuals but drivers racing cars prepared by manufacturers. And we are not just talking about racing cars: Renault and Panhard fielded their small cars, Mercedes immediately understood the power of the message for its road models, while Porsche, newly established, created a car that would become famous: the 550 Spyder.
The growth in the number of participants was impressive: from 150 in 1947 to over 500 in 1955. It was a phenomenon that was as exciting as it was potentially dangerous. In fact, there was no protection for the public who, on the Sunday of the race, crowded along the roads from Brescia to Rome and back to Brescia via Florence and Bologna. The race format, with cars starting every minute with a race number corresponding to their start time (curiously, the car starting at midnight had the number 00 00), made it easy for the public along the route to understand the race, because if car 322 passed before 307, it meant that it had gained more than fifteen minutes, and so on.
In its 11 editions, the last of which was in 1957 with the tragic accident involving De Portago and Nelson, which also seriously affected the public, the Mille Miglia gave rise to new types of cars: first the small Sports cars, open barchettas derived from production cars such as the tiny Fiat Topolino. Then, in a revolution that is still in full swing today, the Gran Turismo. This concept of car did not exist and was created by Italian coachbuilders called upon to transform four-door production saloons into two-seater berlinettas suitable for both road and racing. One need only mention the case of Zagato, who re-bodied them, not only with better aerodynamics, but also using lightweight aluminium for the bodywork.
The 11 post-war editions had two major contenders for overall victory: Ferrari with eight wins and Mercedes, driven by Stirling Moss, which set an incredible record of 157.6 km/h on average over the entire course. Another magnificent car, on display in Roarington in the virtual exhibition of the Mauto, the Turin Automobile Museum, was the Lancia D 24 Sport driven by Alberto Ascari, which gave Alfa Romeo its last victory in 1947 with Clemente Biondetti, after eleven pre-war wins.
The appeal of that race was unmatched anywhere in the world: Italy, its beautiful roads that varied from region to region, the chance to participate with any car and be sure of applause. Just think of the little Isettas with their motorbike engines and rear wheels close together so they didn't need a differential, covering the entire route at an average speed of 80 kilometres per hour – incredible. Not only that, but it was a race that sparked passions that went far and wide: Ferruccio Lamborghini raced the Mille Miglia in his first car, a Fiat Topolino Sport, which ended up in a bar during the night. That's right, he and his now unusable car ended up in a bar outside a bend. Ferruccio's originality was evident even there. But the spark to combine cars with his tractors was ignited that very night.
