At 9.00 a.m., as the Val Roseg opposite St. Moritz slowly releases the first sunlight onto the famous lake and the 48 or so dreamlike car bodies gathered there, the wintry ice landscape is still in order and comparatively untouched by what the day is yet to bring: Gently drifting vehicles on the ice in the so-called "Dynamic Concours", a lot more sun and, above all, temperatures that are too warm for this time of year.
Shortly after 9 a.m. on February 25, 2023, the first Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini engines promptly roar and perhaps the carpet of sound will also contribute to the accelerated melting of the ice.
Our special focus is on one of the "one off" vehicles, the Lamborghini Miura P400S Millechiodi. It is a certified Jota conversion that has been meticulously checked by the factory and is one of a kind. The term Millechiodi refers to the countless rivets that connect the aluminum elements of the bodywork in the most beautiful way, similar to aircraft construction.
The car had an eventful history
Chassis 4302 left the factory in Sant'Agata on October 31, 1969 and was delivered to the "Lamborauto" dealership in Turin on November 17, 1969. After several changes of ownership, Giovanni Sotgiu and Walter Ronchi bought the dark blue ("Blu Notte") Miura P400 S in 1975. These two also owned Bob Wallace's Jota.
Sotgiu and Ronchi then extensively rebuilt the accident-damaged Miura, following the ideas of the Jota. They opted for dark green as the color and gave it the nickname "Millechiodi" because of the many rivets used. The large front spoiler and the widened body also set the car apart from other Miura models. The quick fuel filler neck, which it once had like the Jota, is missing today. Instead, it still has the round double rear lights, which replace the integrated light units of the normal Miuras.
In 2018, the car was restored and of course it was not rebuilt to standard specification, but its individuality was preserved.
Genealogy from the factory
Incidentally, Lamborghini is currently exemplary in the automotive industry when it comes to dealing with the brand's history and set up a special department in 2015 for "genealogical research" and active support for owners of classic Lamborghinis, including complete restoration. This is called "Polo Storico" and the department strongly supported and certified the last restoration of the Miura Millechiodi.
Alessandro Farmeschi, Director After Sales, explains the idea behind this to us, citing the realization that around one in three new car buyers is already the owner of an older Lamborghini and that the company is convinced that the best way to convey a brand image to customers and employees is through the history of the company and its early products. This is obviously paying off, given the brand's recent leaps in profits.
It would be nice if certain German manufacturers would recognize this again, make use of it and invest something here. It simply seems vital to differentiate oneself from faceless electric vehicles produced in China at half the price, above all through tradition, in order to continue to win customers in the future.
In the passenger seat
Shortly before 11 a.m., we hit the ice in the Miura. I meet Federico Buratti, the proud owner of the Miura Millechiodi since 2015, textile entrepreneur - and yet, as he says, a racing driver at heart - for a few leisurely Sunday laps around the lake. The Miura door opens as smoothly and without resistance as it last did in my Fiat Uno Turbo when I was a student.
However, the entrance is considerably lower and all the more moving - not only because of my recent spinal disc surgery, but also because the view from this vehicle and, above all, the look back seems like a journey through time; the panoramic windshield in front of you, the intake funnels of the performance-enhanced 4.1 liter mid-engine V12 with an incredible 440 hp for that time just a few centimeters behind your ears, so that you can hear them doing their work individually.
Trellis ride through the middle of the audience
This is how victorious rally drivers must have felt in the past, so much so that cars like this Miura are cheered by the public. A good 10,000 visitors, including the drivers and their teams, media representatives and many onlookers fill the slowly melting ice. I briefly think of Greta Thunberg and how she could have made a connection between the warm Alpine climate in February, large-volume engines and the event's CO2 footprint.
But she didn't come here to prevent a new wind farm in Norway that violates the rights of indigenous peoples. Also important for saving the climate.
Instead, there are enthusiastic young people in St. Moritz, big and small, who run behind the carriages, sometimes filming, to capture this special moment of tangible proximity to some exotic museum pieces in action and with a carpet of sound.
Finally, the Mercedes C 111-II, Marcello Gandini's extremely futuristic Lancia Sibilo, the original Stratos and the Lincoln Indianapolis, all with us on the track, in front of or behind our Miura, are extremely rare to admire in action. The whole thing is like Pebble Beach on Ice - with the difference that up here the cars are driven with verve and joie de vivre and around a quarter of the vehicles have less than 10 km to travel; such is the density of special vehicles of some local collectors.
A grin on the face
Suddenly the crowd thins out and a steward waves us onto the ice - or rather a flat track of ice and deep snow-like "crushed-ice", alternating and sometimes plowing through with the front spoiler, all in an anti-clockwise direction. Federico blossoms and plays with the accelerator foot, back and forth like a dancer and just until the rear end directs the passengers' gaze to the inner fence boundary and their heads to the right in a controlled manner. Others sometimes turn unplanned or get stuck in the icy slush, the height of which in the afternoon felt like it was twice the ground clearance of some vehicles.
In the late morning, the Miura holds its lane perfectly and gets going again after the summer-tired Ferrari 166 MM "Uovo" in front of us - like driving into a frozen daiquiri - slows down and forces us to stop to avoid a rather expensive collision.
A glance at the Miura's brand-new tires with discreet spikes, presumably in this retro format for the price of a used Mercedes GLA, explains our tactical superiority. Surprisingly few visitors and photographers stray to the edge of the rear straight, which is much easier to drive on, away from the crowd. Otherwise, they can only admire the moving works of art as they run up and down, as the grandstands have been closed as a precautionary measure due to too much melting water.
Federico, like many up here today visibly sunburnt, enjoys the perfectly transverse bend in front of the grandstands, shifts down a gear, plays with the gas pedal with great concentration and looks understandably very happy. He doesn't know, he says, whether he will go out for another lap in the afternoon. But he does. And he has many good reasons. We are looking forward to next year with him - and already today.
Winning is a minor matter
At this year's "The I.C.E." on 24 and 25 February 2023, winners were also chosen and trophies awarded:
The unique and spectacular Lancia Stratos Zero was named "Best of Show", the Maserati 420M/58 "Eldorado Special" was awarded the "Open Wheels" prize, the Ferrari 500 Mondial Series 2 won the "Barchettas on the Lake" group, the Lancia Stratos Zero once again won the "Concept Cars and One-Offs" category and the Bentley S1 Continential DHC was named "Queen on Wheels".
