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Jaguar to Mark 80th Anniversary at Mille Miglia Road Race
British luxury carmaker Jaguar is to celebrate its 80th anniversary by participating in the legendary Italian endurance race challenge Mille Miglia later this month.
Jaguar Heritage will field nine of the marque’s most famous 1950s models in the prestigious open-road race which covers more than 1,000 miles.
Famous faces from the world of motorsport, TV and music will put their historic Jaguars through their paces on the gruelling route which takes place over four days, starting in Brescia, heading to Rimini, Rome, Parma and then back to Brescia.
Crowds lining the route will get to see examples of historically-significant Jaguar XKs, C-types and D-types hurtling past them.
Among the competitors will be five-time winner of the Le Mans 24hr, three-time Daytona 24hr winner and world sportscar veteran, Derek Bell, who will make his Mille Miglia debut driving a Jaguar C-type.
Piloting the second C-type, ‘NDU 289’, will be Jaguar Vehicle Integrity Chief Engineer Mike Cross, while the final C-type, ‘PUG 676’, will be driven by Royal Automobile Club Motoring Committee Chairman, Ben Cussons.
Driving ‘RSF 303’, a priceless Jaguar D-type ‘Long Nose’ Ecurie Ecosse racer, which finished second at Le Mans in 1957, will be Jaguar Design Director, Ian Callum.
The first Mille Migla first took place in 1927 and has grown to become one of the world’s most distinguished and challenging open-road car races.