California Mille 2016

California Mille 2016

California Mille's Salute to Italy's Mille Miglia to Head South for Four Days of Back Roads Adventure

California Mille 2016

California Mille's Salute to Italy's Mille Miglia to Head South for Four Days of Back Roads Adventure

67 Historic Cars Displayed on Nob Hill April 24 Prior to April 25 Departure.

The 26th annual celebration of Italy's most–famous, open–road race, the Mille Miglia, will visit the small towns and see the big vistas of coastal California.

Cars that could have qualified for Italy's thousand mile event that ran from 1927–1957, will arrive at San Francisco's Nob Hill from a dozen states and two foreign countries on Sunday, April 24. The public is invited to see the cars and meet the drivers from 11 AM– 6 PM on Mason between California and Sacramento streets.

Co-directors David and Howard Swig will host a special presentation beginning at 1:30 PM on Sunday, recalling how their father Martin Swig introduced the Mille to America after noting that "Northern California looks more like Italy than...Italy."

Italian Consul General Mauro Battocchi will greet the fans and highlight significant events in the Mille Miglia's history.

The Swigs will take a roving microphone to Mason Street to detail production, styling and racing milestones, illustrated by the California Mille cars, while Ron Borelli's Italian Band will entertain with appropriate music.

On Monday morning at 8:45, April 25, Italian Cultural Affairs director Paolo Barlera will wave the Italian flag at the Partenza (departure) arch spanning Mason Street at California, to officially start the four–day event.

A 2016 Ferrari will lead the historic vehicles down Nob Hill and into the Presidio where the Mille will cruise to the Pacific Coast, drive through Half Moon Bay and end Day 1 at Carmel Valley's Quail Lodge.

Tuesday, April 26, will see the Mille maneuvering rarely–used back roads toward San Simeon and the Heart Castle, over one–lane bridges, through Paso Robles, by Mission San Miguel Arcangel, by the the James Dean memorial (where the actor was killed in his Porsche 550 in 1955), ending the 247–mile drive in Morro Bay.

On Day 3, April 27, the California will head north toward the community of Adelaida (pronounced without the final "a"), Paicines (formerly named Tres Pinos) and Tres Pinos (population 456), stopping for lunch at Leal Vineyards in Hollister. That afternoon, the Mille will drive through historic San Juan Bautista and overnight at Carmel Valley Ranch.

The final day of the thousand–mile drive (not a race!) will take the California Mille through Greenfield, King City, Oil City, and to Harris Ranch in Coalinga for lunch. The Mille will end the drive at Carmel Valley Ranch for an awards dinner and farewell ceremony.

Cars participating the 2016 California Mille include the following from these countries and cities:

1957 AC Aceca Portland, Oregon
1957 AC Aceca Solano Beach, California
1957 AC Aceca Torrance, California
1957 AC Bristol Kingsburg, California
1957 AC Bristol New York, New York
1956 Alfa Romeo
1900 CSS Los Angeles, California
1953 Alfa Romeo
1900 C Laguna Beach, California
1956 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider Palm Springs, California
1957 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider San Rafael, California
1957 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider Beverly Hills, California
1958 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zephyr Cove, Nevada
1957 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Bogota, Colombia
1957 Alfa Romeo Sprint ` Hallande, Florida
1956 Alfa Romeo Sprint Veloce Lt. Wt. San Francisco, California
1952 Allard J2X Rolling Hills, California
1952 Allard J2X New York, New York
1940 Aston Martin Type C San Ramon, California
1953 Aston-Martin DB2 Honolulu, Hawaii
1957 Aston-Martin DB2/4 Alamo, California
1956 Austin-Healey 100M Key Biscayne, Florida
1956 Austin-Healey 100M LeMans Pound Ridge, New York
1928 Bentley 3/8 Racer Malibu, California
1930 Bentley Speed Six Tulsa, Oklahoma
1940 Buick Super San Jose, California
1957 Citroen ID-
19P Old Bennington, Vermont
1956 Corvette Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1957 Ferrari 250GT New York, New York
1956 Ferrari 250GT Boano Alloy Hinsdale, Illinois
1957 Ferrari 250GT TdF Stuart, Florida
1957 Ferrari 250GT TdF Greenwich, Connecticut
1958 Ferrari California LWB Spider Larkspur, California
1958 Ferrari LWB California Spider Westlake Village, California
1953 Fiat 1100 San Mateo, California
1955 Ford Thunderbird Saratoga, California
1938 Jaguar SS-100 Honolulu, Hawaii
1954 Jaguar XK-120 Thousand Oaks, California
1956 Jaguar XK-140 Los Angels, California
1938 Laguna V12 LeMans R Beverly Hills, California
1937 Lancia Aprilia Muir Beach, California
1954 Lancia Aurelia B20S GT Los Angeles, California
1955 Lancia Aurelia B20S GT San Rafael, California
1956 Lancia Aurelia B24S Santa Monica, California
1956 Lancia B20S Laguna Beach, California
1953 Lincoln Capri Sanibel, Florida
1957 Lotus Elite Auburn, California
1957 Maserati 200Si New Vernon, New Jersey
1955 Maserati A6GCS Atherton, California
1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Pacific Palisades, California
1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Naples, Florida
1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Englewood, New Jersey
1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Palo Alto, California
1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Berkeley, California
1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL gullwing Glen Ellen, California
1957 MG Magnette Wenatchee, Washington
1953 Morgan +4 Mill Valley, California
1956 Morgan +4 Berkeley, California
1953 Nash Healey Lebanon, Missouri
1953 Nash Healey Alamo, California
1957 Porsche 356 coupe Carmel Valley, California
1956 Porsche 356 1600S coupe Stuttgart, Germany
1957 Porsche 356GT Newport Beach, California
1955 Porsche Continental Palm Springs, California
1955 Porsche Speedster Stuttgart, Germany
1953 Siata 208CS Larkspur, California
1953 Siata 208C San Francisco, California
1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk Sonoma, California
Source: California Mille Marketing & Publicity Office