Porsches Racing Under the Tuscan Sun

Italy’s Terre di Canossa Classic Car Challenge makes the other historic road event in Italy seem like the Mille Miglia Mild to many of the 100 drivers who have driven or navigated in both events.

A 390 mile route with hundreds of hairpin turns through the back country of Tuscany; Terre di Canossa requires vintage cars to tackle three steep mountain passes over three days. From the forest and meadows of the start in the spa town of Salsomaggiore Terme, to the end of day one at the oceanfront Forte dei Marmi, it was clear Porsche drivers would take the lead.

Routed through the Apennines mountain range, including Passo di Pradarena, the highest passable road at an elevation of over 5,000 feet, the 70 time trials were a challenge some drivers could not complete. Undaunted by the narrow, steep roads, the Swiss Historic Rally Team, driving three of the 13 Porsches entered, took first place overall with a team victory.

Following the group on a motorcycle, we caught some daring moves on technical roads like the Montenero Circuit; venue of the 1937 Italian Gran Prix. After struggling to keep up with them through Pisa, Livorno, the Modena circuit, and eventually right to the finish line in Reggio Emilia, we were quite sure that Porsches have more fun.

59 Pictures of the 13 Porsche Competing

[imagebrowser id=25]
With our new image browser, just click on the image itself for a larger version. Once you’re ready to move on, click on the image again to come back to the browser.

Porsches Competing in the Event

• 1965 911 – Antonino Margiotta, Italy
• 1958 356 AT2 Cabrio – Corrado Corneliani, Italy
• 1955 356 Speedster – Henrich Stove, Italy
• 1956 356 A Speedster – Massimo Bettati, Italy
• 1958 356 A coupe – Jung Ungricht, Switzerland
• 1959 356 A coupe – Marco Halter, Switzerland
• 1962 356 B – Allessandro Bonalumi, Italy
• 1963 356 C 1600 SC – Alberto Zucchini, Italy
• 1965 356 SC – Filippo Berselli, Italy
• 1968 911 T – Himara Bottini, Italy
• 1972 911 S 2.4 – Armin Knupfing, Switzerland
• 1974 356 – Markus Vogt, Switzerland
• 1975 911 S – Stefano Ginesi, Switzerland

Other Porsche Blog Posts You Will Enjoy
Ten Facts To Know About Porsche and 356s
10 Reasons You Should Own a Porsche 356
The Porsche Museum Hits the Road with Hans-Joachim Stuck in a Porsche 356 at the Mille Miglia
Porsche Race Cars are Meant to Race, Not Rust!

Laura Byrd currently lives in Naples, Italy with her husband. She is a frequent contributor to Vintage Motorsport Magazine and a Feature Writer for Streets of Italy, Panorama newspaper. You can visit Laura’s website for in-depth background info or to read more of her work. This is Laura’s first contribution to FLATSIXES.com.