Brescia, June 11th, 2024 – For the 37th year in succession, Chopard was on the starting line of the legendary 1000 Miglia, serving as the official timekeeper and world sponsor of ‘the most beautiful race in the world’, furthering a relationship that is one of the longest in history between a watchmaker and a motoring event. Equally enduring is Chopard Co-President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s love for the 1000 Miglia as he takes part for the 36th time. Accompanied by his dear friend Jacky Ickx, he is driving the Scheufele family’s beloved ‘metallic strawberry’ Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing (look out for number 264).
Chopard pays tribute to a racing legend
This year, Chopard’s familiar booth on Brescia’s Piazza Vittoria – a few minutes from the Viale Venezia start and finish ramp – is decorated in tribute to Brussels-born Jacky Ickx, who won the Le Mans 24 Hours race no fewer than six times between 1966 and 1985. He also achieved eight Formula One wins and 25 podiums, as well as winning both the 1975 Cam-Am series and the gruelling Paris-Dakar Rally in 1983. In addition to evocative images and memorabilia charting Jacky Ickx’s remarkable racing career, the booth showcases the two special editions of the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph JX7 recently unveiled in his honour.
The 2024 Mille Miglia editions revealed
Competitors were also able to see the eagerly anticipated 2024 Mille Miglia special editions – the 36th in succession – which, this year, comprise two distinct models. Both were launched at a special dinner taking place on June 10th at the Brescia’s fabulous Areadocks, a restaurant, bar and boutique hotel re-purposed from a disused railway warehouse.
The first model is the Mille Miglia Classic Chronograph in ultra-resistant and exclusive Lucent Steel™, made with a recycling rate of at least 80%. The 40.5mm diameter chronograph features a ‘La Gara’ (or ‘competition’) dial inspired by motor racing’s celebrated chequered flag. It is topped by a superb ‘glass box’ crystal which facilitates maximum visibility at all times, while a notched winding crown and knurled pushers recall a sports car’s brake pedals while also providing optimum grip. A sapphire crystal case-back offers a bird’s-eye view onto the mechanical self-winding, chronometer-certified movement, and a perforated strap in black calfskin matches the chronograph subdials while evoking the design of traditional driving gloves.
The second timepiece dedicated to this year’s race is the Mille Miglia GTS Chrono Limited Italian Edition, which features a 44-mm case made from lightweight, bead-blasted titanium, and made as just 100 examples in a magnificent celebration of the country in which the legendary race was born.
The long and winding road
Either of the new Mille Miglia timepieces would make the perfect companion for this year’s race, which saw the first car leave the start ramp at noon, with the others following at 20-second intervals in order of age, oldest first. Once underway, the crews headed-off in an anticlockwise direction to the first overnight stop in Turin before hugging northern Italy’s west coast the following day, arriving (for the first time) in the vibrant Ligurian capital of Genoa for lunch.
The second day will finish halfway to Rome in Viareggio, with the crews then heading inland the next morning via the beautifully preserved and historic town of Lucca before making it to the ‘Eternal City’ by nightfall.
