67 classic sports and racing cars took to the scenic California hills to celebrate driving and car culture over the course of five days and 1,000 miles
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., May 8, 2023 - The California Mille, a 1,000-mile driving tour through the hills of Central and Northern California, celebrated its 32nd running April 23rd to April 27th. Sponsored by Chopard, the event featured cars designed prior to the final running of Italy's original Mille Miglia road race in 1957.
"Like fine watches, fine cars are meant to be used, and when it comes to driving there's no better place to do that than the breathtaking byways we select each year for the California Mille," said Hagerty CEO McKeel Hagerty. "What really sets this annual tradition apart, though, is sharing it with other enthusiasts. We are always so grateful for the time we get to spend with people who get just as fired up about great cars and lovely roads as we do."
For Chopard President Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, the link between luxury watches and cars is entirely natural: "Lovers of fine cars often have a great weakness for precious timepieces and vice versa. Extreme precision and sporting elegance are important in both these fields."
Chopard, in addition to creating the commemorative Mille Miglia GTS Automatic Chrono California Mille 32nd Edition, provided watches for the winners of the Spirit of the Mille Miglia award, the Best Pre-War Car award and the Best Post-War Car award. Limited to 30 examples, the watch exemplifies masculine elegance, mechanical precision, watchmaking performance and racing ergonomics – all dedicated to the beauty of driving.
The California Mille was a carbon neutral event for the second year running, offsetting 74,000 miles driven between participating and support vehicles. Hagerty and the California Mille have also donated $10,000 to the California Fire Foundation for the preservation and maintenance of the beautiful environments we live and drive in.
For more details, visit CaliforniaMille.com and its Instagram feed.
About Hagerty, Inc. (NYSE: HGTY)
Hagerty is an automotive lifestyle brand committed to saving driving and fueling car culture for future generations. The company is a leading provider of specialty vehicle insurance, expert car valuation data and insights, live and digital car auction services, immersive events and automotive entertainment custom made for the 67 million Americans who self-describe as car enthusiasts. Hagerty also operates in Canada and the UK and is home to Hagerty Drivers Club, a community of more than 750,000 who can't get enough of cars. As a purpose-driven organization, Hagerty Impact aims to be a catalyst for positive change across the issues that matter most to our teams, our members, the broader automotive community, our shareholders and the planet at large. For more information, please visit www.hagerty.com or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
SOURCE Hagerty