Mille Miglia UAE 2024: Classic cars explore the country during five-day jaunt

Offshoot of long-running Italian event has been dubbed 'the most beautiful race in the Middle East'

Mille Miglia UAE, the annual parade of classic cars, returned this year with more than 120 participants. All photos: Simon Wilgress-Pipe / The National

The event began against a dramatic skyline at Emirates Golf Club

Classic Porsches were a key part of the mix

A Mercedes SLC from the 1980s takes on a whippersnapper G Wagon from 2012

The event attracted 120 cars from around the globe

An Alfa Romeo racecar from the 1930s with mudguards as an unusual safety feature

An Austin Healey lets its engine cool off

In the days before seatbelts ...

The cars take laps around Dubai Autodrome

No speed records were broken on this day

Gullwing doors in a classic Mercedes

The cars, assembled at the Hatta Fort Hotel

A Mercedes troupe climbs Jebel Hafeet

Stopping off in Fujairah

Vintage cars are something of a rarity on UAE roads. The Emirates has plenty within its borders, but you’d generally have to go to a motor museum to see them.

However, the Mille Miglia rally aims to rectify that situation with its return to the region. The annual vintage car event welcomes drivers from all around the globe with their veteran vehicles, ready to take part in a five-day jaunt across the length and breadth of the Emirates.

A whopping 120 cars took part in this year's event, in what organisers have dubbed "the most beautiful race in the Middle East". The competitors began their journey at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, their rides on display amid a throng of clearly bemused members who were more used to seeing Rolls-Royces, Ferraris and Bentleys of a more modern kind in their car park.

From there, the crews drove through Sharjah to reach Hatta, where they stopped for lunch. This was followed by a journey to Fujairah before ending the day’s racing in Ras Al Khaimah. On the second day, competitors tackled the heights of Jabel Jais before heading east again to Fujairah. On day three, the cars coasted along the Gulf of Oman before heading back into Dubai and finally returning to Fujairah. On the last morning of the race, they headed to the Dubai Autodrome to take laps of the track, before reaching the final finish line in Abu Dhabi in the afternoon.

While many of the entrants were from other countries, there were many domestic vehicles in situ as well, many culled from the region’s garages in some form of display unit.

The Mille Miglia originates from Italy, where the rules for entry are more stringent – anyone taking part in the Brescia-to-Rome route there will need to be driving a car produced no later than 1957.

Classic models taking part included a 1928 Bentley 4.5-Litre Le Mans, a 1936 Lagonda LG45, a 1938 V12 Le Mans and, by these standards, a relatively modern 1961 Fiat Osca 1,500 S Cabrio.

Most of the vehicles at the UAE event were old, but more modern cars were allowed – not least Mercedes’ new electric G Wagon, a Lamborghini Huracan Sterato and a Koenigsegg CC Prototype – making it a celebration of motoring through the ages.

Joining the UAE Mille Miglia is not a cheap business – the cost of entry for each competing car is more than $13,000. That does get you your food and accommodation over the course of the week, though. And entries are already being taken for next year.