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Lyn’s Rescued Porsche 912 Survives the 1000 Miglia Warm Up USA
Almost every bit of a car has a workaround in case you can’t fix it or find a replacement, even the engine (there’s always electrification). But you can’t drive anywhere without tires, and you can’t 3D-print a set at home. Tire choices for some old cars aren’t what they used to be, and what choices we have are getting expensive. As an example, take “Wolfie,” the derelict 1967 Porsche 912 that Hagerty contributor Lyn Woodward and I pulled from a California field over a year ago full of rat turds and black widow spiders.
Among the things Wolfie needed, including some welding, a new interior, and a good hug, were tires. There were exactly three choices in the stock size. We settled on the Vredestein Sprint Classics for their cool vintage look and their price, more than $100 per tire less than the next cheapest option. A 116-year-old Dutch brand that was acquired by India’s Apollo Tyres in 2009, Vredestein has lately been making a bigger play in the classic car world, and for the reasons stated above, we should be thankful for the attention.
Eight months later, Wolfie was back on the road. Vredestein took notice of Lyn’s social media posts about the project and invited her, a veteran of on- and off-road rallying, to take one of the company’s sponsor slots at the 1000 Miglia Warm Up USA in Virginia. As the name implies, the annual October event is affiliated with the revived Mille Miglia, the celebrated 1000-mile Italian road race that takes place in June. For those who think the Mille is just a wine-and-cheese cruise, the Warm Up will thoroughly disabuse you of that notion. You can blow off the event’s many structured time challenges if you wish, but if you want to compete, there’s a lot of learning to do and the Warm Up gives you that opportunity.
Replacing the flat-out melee that was once the Mille Miglia is a technical competition that prioritizes precision over speed, requiring your car to be at exact locations at exact times and speeds as measured by GPS trackers and road sensors. The top cars fight over hundredths of a second. In contrast to the American analogs such as the California Mille, which are tours, the Italian Mille is five days of arcane tests that at times require you to drive, say, exactly 28.58 mph for exactly 3.73 miles. It’s not easy, even with GPS and cellphone apps to help.
Against the orange and ochre backdrop of Northern Virginia in the fall, Wolfie lined up with 23 other cars, including blue-chip Mille stars like a 1931 Alfa 6C Zagato Spider, a 1950 Ferrari 166 coupe, and a ’55 Benz Gullwing. YouTube celeb Tim “Living the Supercar Dream” Burton, aka Shmee, was there piloting a 2018 Ford GT. He passed us numerous times over the next three days as Wolfie puttered from challenge to challenge in no great hurry. Lyn opted for the much more demanding co-driver seat and expertly called directions as we battled with Shmee and Vredestein’s other team, influencers Angel Fonseca (@hijoflacko) and Kali Moldavon (@kalimoldavon) driving an ’86 Porsche 911 Targa in the novice class, the prize being a guaranteed entry in the 2025 Italian Mille.
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The prova cronometrata were our nemesis. These require you to drive between closely coupled traps in exactly the time allotted, each mini-stage directly leading to the next. Typically conducted in quiet, low-speed neighborhoods, a typical stage might be 1400 feet, which must be covered in exactly 41 seconds, leading directly to a 165-foot stage calling for eight seconds, and so on, with up to 20 of these one right after the other. The speeds vary with each stage, so no setting the cruise control even if Wolfie had one. You get a penalty point for each hundredth of a second you are off; zero is the goal, and we scored a couple of those as well as some single digits, but we also got a 211 on one, meaning we were 2.11 seconds late on a stage that was supposed to be 49 seconds long. As I said, this isn’t like horseshoes or nuclear weapons— you must be dead on target to win.
Yet win the class we did, and at the awards ceremony, we were handed a potentially very expensive piece of paper that guarantees us a spot in Italy next June. Wolfie is ineligible, so we have to get an approved 1927–1957 car, ship it to Italy, pay the entry fee, and get ourselves there, too. Good thing we saved some money on the tires.
This story first appeared in the January/February 2025 issue of Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Join the club to receive our award-winning magazine and enjoy insider access to automotive events, discounts, roadside assistance, and more.
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Awesome result. The competition seems tedious and not fun though.
‘ More wine Signore e signor? Canape? We’ll be seating in about an half an hour. Can I get you anything else in the meantime ?’ You forgot to include the gofundme link. Jealous? in a word…yes.
Congrats on the successful drive!