If the 1,600km road race, waving its way through Italy from Brescia to Rome and back, was considered to be the most prestigious - as well as challenging - of its kind at the time, its modern day counterpart is equally revered as the ultimate rally for classic car enthusiasts.

The combination of fantastic roads, wild cheering crowds, fabulously rare machinery and impeccable organisation has indeed proved to be a winning one, and every year this success is repeated with even greater emphasis. For Maserati, the Mille Miglia has always carried a special meaning, for its creation coincided with the first years of racing activity of the marque and very early on the Trident started to gather laurels in the gruelling race.

Mainly it was in the classes below 2 litres of engine displacement that Maserati made its mark, often finishing on the overall podium well ahead of larger and more powerful competitors.



Despite the unusual absence of any pre-war model, there were still thirteen Maserati entries in this year’s Mille Miglia. A much awaited 450S was sadly withdrawn at the last minute, yet there were plenty of rarely seen GTs and sports racers to please the eyes – and ears – of the ecstatic crowds piling up all along the course, even in the late hours of the night. For instance, three A6G/54 Zagato berlinettas took part, one of them having appeared at the Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance a month earlier: further proof that a classic Maserati can be equally at ease in a plush setting as in a racing context.

Some enthusiasts return year after year, never tiring of the Mille Miglia experience. For American collector Bruce Male, this was the 14th occasion.

His 2-litre A6GCS/53 was third in the 1954 Mille Miglia with Luigi Musso behind the wheel, an incredible result achieved by beating twenty-seven cars of larger displacement. Other Maseratis included a rare A6 1500 Pinin Farina coupé, a first series A6G.CS with enclosed fenders, and a 200 SI driven by “Sakay”, a famous Japanese actor/singer. The Mille Miglia is in fact very popular in Japan, where a local version of the event is organised every year.

The event was blessed with three days of fine weather, making it all the more enjoyable for all involved. The great tradition of the legendary Italian road race is well preserved, as exemplified by the overwhelming response of the people of Modena, who could admire the cars in Piazza Grande on the return leg of yet another brilliant Mille Miglia celebration.