GALLERY: The Mille Miglia Staging Area Might Be The World’s Greatest Car Show

While the time focused event that bears the Mille Miglia moniker today may have precious little to do with the original race that ran its last lap of Italy in the late 50’s, the cars that find themselves in Brescia once a year are some of the most incredible examples of automotive history on the road today. Each one of the cars you see here will be hurled across the Italian countryside over the next four days, but first they must all stop at the Fiera di Brescia for Scrutineering.

Literally translated, Fiera means “Fair” and my god, what a fair it is. Side by side you have more 300SLs than you can shake a stick at. Villa d’Este winners? Check. Pebble Beach Princes? Check. All of the cars that you would normally see on a green lawn and then some are sitting under one roof, parked in rows, with virtually no one around. It’s like stumbling into the ultimate toy box, albeit one with a value in the hundreds of millions.

What’s incredible as well is that due to the strict standards for entry into the Mille, almost every car you see here must have impeccable provenance. Yes that’s a factory long nose D-Type. Yes that’s a werks SLR. The cars are simply incredible, and for a few days before the start of the Mille, they are just sitting there for your enjoyment.