2018 Mille Miglia: Sealing and Inspection

May 16, 2018

, Brescia, Italy

The Mille Miglia has been the supreme expression of the passion for cars for more than 90 years. It was created in 1927 as a mass start race beginning and ending in Brescia, over a route leading down to Rome and then back up the Italian peninsula that totalled 1,600 kilometres or 1,000 imperial miles (“mille miglia”).

In 1928, during the race’s second edition, Alfa Romeo won both the individual and the team titles, with all eight of its cars successfully completing the course. To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the first in a long series of victories, the “Alfa Romeo: Mille Miglia in 90 places” project has been created to retrace the most significant stages in a unique story through 90 photos of the most emblematic locations.

But before the start itself, no Mille Miglia would be complete without the technical checks yesterday at the showground, including the sealing and inspection, which took place this morning in the lovely setting of Piazza della Vittoria, one of main squares of the city known as the “Lioness of Italy.” The process involves two stages, one for the crews – permits, certificates and driving licences – and one that checks the car’s technical features. Sealing involves the application of a lead seal to confirm that the inspection has been passed and that the car is as specified in the race documents and, above all, it constitutes final approval to take part in the event.
 
But above all, technical aspects aside, sealing and inspection is one of the times when fans have the opportunity to take a close look at the historic cars taking part in the race, and in Brescia all eyes are on the stunning 1928 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 Super Sport, with coachwork by Farina, which is celebrating the 90th anniversary of its memorable victory in the 1928 Mille Miglia. The car will be carrying the race number 30, also borne by the winning car driven by Giuseppe Campari and Giulio Ramponi.
 
There was also applause and awe at the sight of the legendary 6C 1750 Gran Sport, victorious in 1930 with Tazio Nuvolari and Giovanni Battista Guidotti, which competes with race number 31. Along the route, there will be time to return to the famous “overtaking without lights” episode and the setting of a new average speed record for the entire course. Other major attractions are the 1954 1900 Super Sprint, an extremely rare racing spider, and the elegant 1900 Sport Spider coupé built in 1956. After the inspections, they are all ready for their engines to roar to life once more in a race through some of Italy’s most beautiful locations.
 
Alfa Romeo’s secret and its unique status lie in the wonder inspired not only by its historic models, but also by the current production cars, which, with Stelvio and Giulia, embody the brand’s new identity. Stelvio is Alfa Romeo’s first SUV and has rewritten the rules for its class by setting new performance benchmarks, while Giulia is the sports sedan where functional and dynamic beauty combine to achieve peerless performance. They belong to the official fleet of 30 vehicles that the brand is making available to the organizers as official cars. There could be no better way of getting first-hand experience of the Alfa Romeo DNA, steeped in history and competition and with the vigour of a legendary past.
 
About Alfa Romeo
Since its foundation in Milan, Italy, in 1910, Alfa Romeo has designed and crafted some of the most stylish and exclusive cars in automotive history. That tradition lives on today as Alfa Romeo continues to take a unique and innovative approach to designing automobiles.
 
Born from the world’s greatest driving road – the Stelvio Pass – the all-new 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio sets a new benchmark in performance, style and technology in an SUV that could only be Italian. The innovative Q4 all-wheel-drive (AWD) system – standard on all Stelvio models, including the Quadrifoglio, provides additional driving confidence and superior control. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio – on sale in early 2018 – holds the Nürburgring record for the fastest production SUV with a lap time of 7 minutes and 51.7 seconds. Infused with Italian passion, craftsmanship and innovation, the all-new Alfa Romeo Stelvio conquers the winding road for which it is named.
 
As the first of a new generation of vehicles on the all-new Giorgio platform, the 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia and Giulia Ti sedans deliver race-inspired performance with a class-leading 280 horsepower, advanced technologies that include the available Q4 AWD system, seductive Italian style and an exhilarating driving experience to the premium mid-size sedan segment. As the “halo” model in the lineup, the Giulia Quadrifoglio highlights Alfa Romeo’s motorsport knowhow with a best-in-class, 505-horsepower, 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine that earns the title of the most powerful Alfa Romeo production car engine ever and the quickest with a class-leading 0-60 mph time of 3.8 seconds, plus it enabled a record-setting Nürburgring lap time of 7:32 – the fastest ever by a four-door production sedan.
 
The handcrafted 2018 Alfa Romeo 4C Coupe and Spider represent the purest form of La meccanica delle emozioni (the mechanics of emotion), with their race-inspired, mid-engine design and state-of-the-art, Formula 1-inspired carbon fiber monocoque chassis that enables an incredible power-to-weight ratio and with advanced technologies, including the all-aluminum 1750 turbocharged and intercooled engine with direct-injection and dual variable-valve timing, which enables supercar-level performance, including 0-60 mph in 4.1 seconds.

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