Amanda Millin

August 1, 2015

When the first Mille Miglia took place in 1927, “most people still had their doubts that cars could ever reliably cover a distance of 1,000 miles,” says Fritz Kaiser, founder of the Classic Car Trust, a sponsor and partner of the Italian road race that was held annually until 1957 and revived in 1977 as the world’s most elite classic-car rally. 

This summer, a team led by the Classic Car Trust and including the automotive photographers René Staud and Julien Mahiels has produced Mille Miglia: 1,000 Miles of Passion (teNeues Publishing, $95), a massive tome documenting a single year of the modern race, as well as the history, glamour, and dynamic car culture that surround it. 

The highly visual, day-by-day account of the 2014 Mille Miglia begins with drivers such as Wolfgang Porsche and Jay Leno rolling in for the prerace parties in Brescia, follows them through the cobblestone villages along the route, and captures the elation at the finish line. “We have engaged the best photographers to portrait these outstanding cars, capture the passion of the drivers, the beauty of the Italian landscape, and the emotions of the Italians in the villages and along the streets,” Kaiser says. “With the historic insights provided in the book, you get the real idea about the Mille Miglia.”