Never Stop Driving #130: Getting Out of The Funk

We’re in The Funk. That’s what I call this last week in January, the point in a Midwestern winter when the novelty of tackling projects in my heated garage has worn off. Cabin fever sets in, and I’m stuck indoors because I don’t want to subject my babies to Michigan’s messy salty roads. Or so I’ve convinced myself.

I’m trying to get over this precious attitude—my babies, after all, are just cars—and think more like my friend and American expat Mark Gessler, who told me about an event in his new home country, Italy, where hundreds of entrants drive their vintage cars on snowy January roads, the elements be damned. This year, I invited myself to join him.

It was the 37th running of the Winter Marathon, a multi-day driving competition in the alpine snow and freezing temps of Italy’s dramatic Dolomites. This past weekend, 130 teams gathered in the ski village of Madonna di Campiglio to begin a 350-mile journey through stunning mountain scenery. With dozens of time-speed-distance (TSD) competitions along the way, it was a test of driving precision, navigation, car prep, stamina, and teamwork.

Gessler runs a team called Scuderia SPORTS that handles all the logistics so folks like me can show up and drive. The service includes two days of training for the navigation and TSD competitions. Gessler’s also a partner with Zagato, one of the few independent Italian coachbuilders still plying the trade. As such he and I shared his 1971 Lancia Fulvia Sport Zagato, a special version of a special car.

The Fulvia debuted in 1963 with a unique V-4 engine that drove the front wheels and is highly regarded among vintage Italian car fans. They were durable buggers that won rallies and began the bloodline that birthed a series of high-performance machines including the Stratos, the 037, the Delta S4, and the Delta Integrale.

Zagato came onboard with the Fulvia in 1965. If the name sounds familiar that’s because Zagato, founded in 1919 by Ugo Zagato and now run by his grandson Andrea, is famous for limited-edition coachbuilt cars like the Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato, famous for its double bubble bulged roof. They are worth some $10 million.

As for the Fulvia, Zagato rebodied it with a sleeker aerodynamic hatchback suit and produced about 6000 examples into the early Seventies. A decent Sport Zagato is still less than 50 grand, a bargain for a highly usable and slightly exotic Italian car.

Gessler and I and our white Fulvia joined a stunning variety of cars at the snowy start line, including a Lancia Stratos, a posse of Porsche 911s, Fiat X1/9s, and a handful of open-topped 1950s MGs and Triumphs with very hearty souls at the wheel. The two most common cars were Fulvias, although not Zagatos, and the Fiat 508 C, a prewar sedan that looks like a miniature gangster car. There were plenty of one-offs, like an Eighties Ferrari Testarossa, a Volvo 122, and a Mercedes 350SLC coupe driven by a pair of Austrians who wore brown running jackets that matched their car. In short, automotive enthusiasm was sky high.

Our caravan crisscrossed the Dolomites sometimes well into the night, chasing each other up dark slippery switchbacks. We entrants shivered together during breaks and gawked at stunning mountain vistas. In one unforgettable leg, I followed a topless Triumph TR3 bellowing up a hill, drifting through every turn. As evidenced by the driver’s body English, his joy was obvious. People were there for an adventure and the car, as usual, was a terrific delivery device for uncommon experiences. We made a short Instagram reel here.

As for the competition part, the route portions where one has to drive sections at highly accurate speeds—we’re talking micro-second differences between competitors—we did, umm, okay, finishing just below the top half. No matter, it was a glorious few days, Gessler was a fine rally companion, and I came away thinking perhaps I shouldn’t be so precious about my vintage cars back here in Michigan. The closest thing to the Winter Marathon that I know about in North America is my pal Dave Hord’s Hagerty Spring Thaw, a three-day drive in British Columbia each spring on dirt and snow-covered roads. I hope to try it.

While I was in Italy, the sports-car racing season opened at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Roger Penske’s Porsche won overall for the second consecutive year and America dominated the GTD class, with Ford’s GT3 Mustang taking first and third and a Corvette finishing second. Our man Steven Cole Smith was on the ground in Daytona and filed this colorful report.

Here’s some other new material from Hagerty Media to see you through this last weekend of January:

• Hagerty correspondent John L. Stein takes us to a Pacific Palisades garage where he viewed the charred remains of his vintage motorcycles
• Three Keys to Buying an Affordable Classic Car in 2025
• The Reliability of Vintage Cars … Unexpectedly Continued
• Jason Cammisa and His BMW 850 CSi Visit Jay Leno’s Garage

And this week on Hagerty Marketplace, I’m jonesing for this Pontiac and the screaming chicken on the hood.

Have a great weekend!

Larry

P.S.: Your feedback and comments are welcome.  

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