1,000 Miles

Gioel is a technology entrepreneur passionate about analog machines, food, photo, friends and great experiences in beautiful places. Raised in Milan, educated in the USA as an engineer. Currently on sabbatical pondering how to best integrate work and life.

Summer of 2021 presents a unique combination of ingredients: a relief from pandemic lockdowns enabled by vaccine rollouts, a world largely devoid of tourism, and for many including myself a new and deeper understanding of the value of personal time, family, health, and sharing experiences with friends.

This was the backdrop for me and 3 friends’ return to proper road rallying which took place during the recent 2021 edition of 1000 Miglia in Italy from June 16-19. This year’s event had been postponed from the traditional May timeframe and was exceptionally well attended: close to 400 historic cars and an additional 100 from Ferrari Tribute, the most ever.

We were blessed with sunny weather, extraordinary cars that ran beautifully for the entire week, spectacular food and beverages, and above all an entire country that celebrated and cheered us on the entire way. Though we followed the route the vast majority of the way, we took some liberties adjusting for our own meal choices and an occasional highway stint when we were late for dinner or simply wanted to break free of the remaining 100+ Ferrari that were in the Tribute convoy. Thus was born our first edition of ‘1000 Miglia Modificata’.

Planning for the trip started in January 2021 with an incredibly fortuitous find of a two owner Ferrari F50 in Italy. The car had been dormant in storage for about 10 years and previously owned by a well known Italian Gentleman Racer. An F50 has been on my Analog Legends roadmap for some time and I had just missed a very nice example in the UK that was sold in December. I jumped at the opportunity and arranged to have the car refreshed at Autofficina Bonini in Reggio Emilia. Over the course of the Spring, the amazing and knowledgeable Bonini team went about returning this F50 to running order in preparation for its 1000 mile re-introduction to its home country. The only modification that was made was installation of a Tubi Style sport exhaust including manifolds. This setup retains sport mufflers and is a great and reasonable balance of loudness and exhaust note improvement. We arrived in Reggio Emilia in our support vehicle, a Lancia Delta Futurista by Automobili Amos, also recently completed and newly delivered the week of the event. It was wonderful to share the Futurista, number 8 of 20, with the team at Bonini and to hear their thoughts on the work done to this other Italian classic.

The next 4 days saw us alternating driving and shaking down the two cars through mountain passes, countryside roads, highways and city centres. In addition to the standard route provided by the 1000 Miglia, we added stops in Milan and Bergamo bookending the trip and completing an additional 300 miles in the cars. We were greeted by

the warmest of welcomes and passionate enthusiasts at every corner. The entire journey is conducted on public roads which are those that were used in 1957 and is led by police motorcycle escort coordinated with local traffic officers through the dozens of towns. The police would lead and clear the roads ahead for the convoys such that participants could safely travel at pace. Selection for duty as an officer for the 1000 Miglia is a special privilege that caters to passionate Italian police who consider it an honour. It was great fun to look in the rear view of the F50 and see flashing lights that we didn’t have to worry about and were glad to see.

Ahead of the first drive I was keen to compare the F50 to other analog favourites, Porsche Carrera GT and the F40. The F50 exceeded our collectively high expectations and proved to be even better than its specifications and reviews led us to believe. It is far easier to drive around town and for long stints than its older turbo-charged sibling and on more than one occasion we discussed the remarkable jump in overall vehicle engineering and finesse that happened in less than a decade between these two Ferrari models.

In contrast to the F40, the F50 is a revelation of delicate controls, surgically

precise throttle response, good brakes, chassis sensitivity, and comfortable ride. The driving position is natural and less kart-like than the F40 and pedals retain great feel but are lighter and rather smoother in the F50. The entirely unassisted steering and the gearbox in particular are highlights worth delving into. The clutch can be handled similarly to a Carrera GT: no throttle application is needed to get off the line or for a hill start, just let the onboard computer handle everything.

As with Carrera GT the combination of carbon tub, open top and a screaming naturally aspirated engine delivers a thrilling proposition, which is elevated into an even purer form of analog driving in the F50. The decade that elapsed between these two rivals is directly noticeable in additional ‘non essentials’ in the CGT that add to weight and layers between driver and machine. The F50 benefits from a combination of direct steering without power assist and no driver aids whatsoever (including lack of ABS) which take the analog formula to what must be its most extreme level for production cars of the era.

Our Futurista went well beyond support car duties and proved to be the ideal transport for the twisty climbs and

switchback routes we encountered on Passo Della Cisa and surrounding Tuscan country roads. The Amos team has added to and improved the fundamental characteristics of the Delta Integrale without changing its underlying personality: a heavily turbocharged, glued-to-the-road hatchback that loves to dart from corner to corner. The turn in has been substantially improved and modernised by way of revised front suspension geometry, an uprated engine producing 330hp and modernised brakes, cooling and transmission. These mechanical elements are married to an exterior treatment that does away with the rear passenger doors and replaces the hood with a carbon ‘Cofango’, and a new interior from dashboard to seats. We were particularly thankful for the USB charging port that was added to the Delta which turned out to be the only USB

charger we had available during critical content production crunch time during our day journeys.

At the end of the official route we met up with the remainder of the Ferrari Tribute convoy and as a final unplanned highlight I was able to drive the F50 with my father down Corso Venezia in Brescia for the red carpet ceremony.

These few but intense days were a magical, likely unrepeatable experience that couldn’t have come at a better time, reminding us that what matters most is spending time with those we care about and sharing special experiences together with other passionate people. We look forward to next year!

Gioel @redshift75