It’s always better to exercise a vintage car rather than simply rest it on a show field. A leading venue for that kind of veteran outing, the Coppa della Alpi by 1000 Miglia, kicked off its annual run with a pre-event in Brescia, Italy, the longtime starting point for the original, fable Mille Miglia, run for the last time in 1957. This revival-type event will consist of four legs totaling more than 1,000 miles in Italy, Austria, Germany and Switzerland, assaulting the Alps in springtime using cars of yore, such as the 1927 Bugatti T37 that won a pre-run trophy in Brescia.
The Coppa della Alpi consists of 11 time controls, seven passage controls, 90 time trials and 60 of what the organizers refer to as secret average trials, some held on snow cover. Arguably the happiest competitors are newlyweds Karsten and Patricia Wohlenberg, who are celebrating their honeymoon by taking on the Alpine passes in their 1968 Porsche 911.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 