Autoblog

Click image for a high-res gallery of the Alfa Spider Mille Miglia

The 500 Abarth Asetto Corse isn't the only limited-edition Fiat Group vehicle that'll be available for order at this year's Mille Miglia. Alfa Romeo will also be taking orders for the 11 Spider Mille Miglia editions it's building to commemorate the 11 times it's won the race. Setting the cars apart from standard editions are Rosso 8C paint, Quadrifoglio shields on the fenders and a red-accented black interior. Translation: it's a super-exclusive paint-and-badging special.

Each car is, of course, individually numbered, and their unique ID plates note a different Alfa Romeo Mille Miglia victory. We can totally envision some eccentric collector ultimately securing all eleven rides one day just to have the complete set. Power comes from the automaker's 3.2L V6 producing 260 horses. Price? We don't know, but we'll bet that it more than covers the costs of the model-specific paint and a few extra badges.


[Source: Alfa Romeo]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Fiat 500 Abarth Asetto Corse

Fiat is in attendance this week at the famous Mille Miglia in Brescia, Italy and it brought with it a whopper of a small car to impress the crowd. On hand is the Fiat 500 Abarth Asetto Corse, a full race version of the little iconic car that sports a screaming 200-hp turbocharged 1.4L four-cylinder that also produces 220 pound-feet of torque. Power is routed through a six-speed gearbox on its way to a set of 17-inch track white ultralight racing wheels that totally look the part. Make no mistake, this is a real race car and a special one-make championship series is being planned that will put it on the most famous race tracks across Europe next year. Only 50 will be made, however, so entry is exclusive.

While we don't know the price yet, your bag of Euros will get you a 500 that's kitted out with an aerodynamic package that adds a front spoiler, big rear wing, fender flares at all four corners and two new hood-mounted air intakes to feed the turbo. The interior has been stripped to save weight, which now stands at just 2,050 lbs., and a racing roll bar has been installed to protect the driver who now sits closer to the center of the car to improve weight distribution and driving feel. The Asetto Corse gets big Abarth badges all around and a pastel grey with red striping livery. The one on hand at the Mille Miglia is No. 00/49 and a pre-production prototype, so there are still plenty left for those who've always wanted a 500 race car.


[Source: World Car Fans, Italiaspeed]

This year's Mille Miglia will be partially sponsored by Audi and the quad-ring crew is tapping Audi Tradition to pull six vehicles from the automaker's storied history out of the museum and onto the road. In attendance this year will be three Wanderer W25s from 1936, 1927 and 1938, each powered by the original, 55 hp engines, along with one DKW 3=6 and two DKW Monzas. With that kind of historic iron participating in the 1,000-mile rally, Audi needs competent drivers behind the wheel. While we can't attest to the driving prowess of Rupert Stadler, Audi's board chair; Stephan Grühsem, VAG's head of communications; famous German actor Tomas Heinze; or Toni Melfi, head of communications for Audi, we're sure that two-time World Rally Champion Christian Geistdörfer won't have a problem piloting any of the vehicles that helped to forge Audi's legacy.

Hit the jump for all the details on the drivers and the cars.

Who would have guessed, but Benito Mussolini was a certified car guy. At least we can surmise that much from his car: the Alfa Romeo roadster you see above was once owned by the Italian dictator, and is now destined for the auction block.

Il Duce ordered this Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 Pescara Spyder in 1935. Before it was delivered, he had custom coachwork with an auxiliary jump-seat crafted for it by Carrozzeria Touring. Underhood, he had the engine tuned to 95 horsepower from the standard 68. Naturally, the father of fascism didn't drive himself, but he didn't get any ordinary chauffeur either: he hired Ercole Boratto, a former Alfa Romeo factory test driver. In 1936 Boratto even took the car to the famous Mille Miglia street race, where he and the dictator's Alfa finished third in class.

Now, there are cars with provenance, and there are cars with provenance. As if its infamous first owner and its race history weren't enough, chassis 700635, with matching numbers, was awarded top honors at the 2005 New York Concours d'Elegance and second in class at Pebble Beach the same year. H&H auction house is putting it up on the block at England's Cheltenham race course on February 27, 2008, where it is expected to fetch between six and eight hundred thousand pounds sterling (approximately one and a half million dollars).

[Source: Italiaspeed]

Our team in Paris just sent us some live shots of the updated Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. As we reported back in July when it was announced, this is a more powerful and sportier variant of the SLR McLaren called the "722 Edition." Produced to honor Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson's 1955 Mille Miglia victory, the "722" is a reference to their 300 SLR's start number 722 (which corresponded with its 7:22 AM start time).

The SLR's power has been boosted to an even more impressive 650 hp, and the suspension has been tweaked to give the car an even more sporting character. Additionally, the front air dam and rear diffuser get slight makeovers to improve aerodynamics. Black wheels and red "722" badges will help distinguish it from lesser SLRs. Lots of carbon fiber, leather/alcantara seating and a new racecar-type steering wheel complete the package.

Many more pics from Eric Bryant and M-B, plus the original release after the jump.

As the 2006 edition of the Mille Miglia historic auto race prepares to kick off, BMW has unveiled this stunning concept car to commemorate its involvement with the classic road races.

The BMW Concept Coupe Mille Miglia 2006 evokes the lines of the classic BMW 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupe, which won the Mille Miglia in 1940. The Touring Coupe reasserted its mastery of the classic road race in 2004, when it claimed victory in the Mille Miglia storica - the reincarnation of the event for historic racing cars.

The carbon fiber bodywork of the Concept Coupe is a modern aerodynamic interpretation of the aluminum-bodied Touring Coupe, and wraps around the capable chassis and drivetrain of the BMW Z4 M Coupe.

The  Mille Miglia Concept Coupe is a pure styling exercise - BMW has no plans for a production version.

The BMW press release follows the jump, with lots of pictures of this unique car.