Fasten your seat belts and gear up for Italy's MilleMiglia

Ladies and Gentlemen, fasten your seat belts and start your engines. The 2010 Mille Miglia is about to depart. From May 6th through May 9th, the world’s most beautiful vintage cars will be racing the 1000 mile circuit from Brescia to Rome and back, reliving the historic 1920s race. For anyone who has every loved the fabulous opening sequence to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the 1968 film based on an Ian Fleming (yes, James Bond creator) novel and written by Roald Dahl, where Chitty’s racing car past is chronicled in black and white, the Mille Miglia race is your in-full-technicolor fantasy come true.

Mille Miglia started in 1927, supposedly to keep the city of Brescia in the foreground after it lost the Grand Prix to Monza. Fearing Brescia’s obscurity, a 1000 mile race was created where drivers would depart from Brescia in a rally to Rome, and then return for the prize and victory lap in Brescia. From 1927 to 1957, there were 24 open-air endurance races until Spanish driver Alfonso de Portago’s Ferrari D50A blew a tire and crashed, killing de Portago, navigator Edmund Nelson and 10 spectators.

Revived as a road rally event in 1982, Mille Miglia maintains a Brescia-Rome-Brescia thousand mile circuit and is one of Europe’s very best and most beautiful races. On Friday, May 7th, after 8 pm, hundreds of vintage vehicles will pitstop in front of Rome’s Castel Sant’Angelo—Bugattis, Austin Healys, Aston Martins, Fiats, Alfa Romeos, Porsches, BMWs, Mercedes, Jaguars, Buicks and Chryslers.

Drivers come from all around the world and are professional racers, celebrities, musicians and gear heads. Look for Olympic skier Alberto Tomba “La Bomba” in a 1955 Mercedes 300 SLR, Formula 1 champion Jackie Stewart in another 1955 Mercedes 300 SLR, Pink Flolyd’s Nick Mason and Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay in a 1954 Maserati A6G/54. Like every rally, automobiles fulfill strict requirements. Eligible cars are based on year, make and model of vehicles that competed in the original 24 races—i.e. models from 1927 to 1957 only, though several newer models join up just to show off. Keep your eyes peeled for Alfa Romeo, celebrating its 100-year anniversary, with five cars including a 1928 6C 1500 Super Sport and 1956 1900 Super Sprint. Mercedes, winner in 1931 and 1955 has a fleet of Formula 1 drivers and amazing cars like the 1929 SSK and the futuristic SLS AMG. BMW, 1940 winner is bringing an army of 328s. And finally, Mille Miglia will have a special tribute to Ferrari, showcasing 30 classics representing 1958 to today.

Quick lesson in international rally racing: Cars leave at different timed intervals, often traveling together in a fleet. Each vehicle is painted a standardized racing colour, which indicates the nation of origin of the car (or driver). This helps spot the Alfas from the Astons.

Germany: Silver or Bare metal
France: Blue
Great Britain: Green
Italy: Red
Japan: White with Red sun
USA: White, blue lengthwise stripes white underframe (or vice versa)

Want to catch some cars? Here are some pit stops and transit cities: