If you want to get a glimpse of where the collector car world in the Gulf is heading, head to the 1000 Miglia Experience in the United Arab Emirates. is an event you want to watch closely. The fourth edition is currently running (November 30, 2025 – December 4, 2025) in the United Arab Emirates. The energy had been building since the opening day of the rally, which took place on the lawns of the Emirates Golf Course in Dubai last weekend. On display was a spectacular selection of participating vintage and classic cars, as well as one-offs, several historically significant automobiles and more modern metal cars.
But to understand Why Because this event carries weight, you need to know where it started. The original Mille Miglia is one of the greatest road races of all time, right up there with Targa Floria and La Carrera Pan Americana. The original race ran through northern Italy between 1927 and 1957, running from Brescia to Rome and a 1,000-mile run on public roads back to Brescia.
It became a crucial test of endurance, engineering and bravery, attracting both professional riders and manufacturers looking to demonstrate their performance outside controlled circuits. For security reasons, the event was put on hold after 1957. The modern format was revived in 1977 as a regularity rally to preserve this heritage without the risks of unrestricted speed. The UAE Edition builds on this legacy and began 2021 by extending this glorious chapter into a region with a rapidly developing collector car scene.
Looking back, one of the most remarkable moments of the Mille Miglia is the historic run by Sir Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson in a Mercedes Benz 300 SLR. The duo set off at exactly 7:22 a.m. on May 1, 1955 and managed to cover 1,000 miles in 10 hours and seven minutes, an average speed of more than 98 miles per hour on public roads. Remember, this happened long before the era of modern security. Her record still stands today.
Mercedes had a strong presence at the event, displaying SL and SLR models from several eras. The showstopper of the event was without a doubt the Mercedes Benz 300 SLR from 1955, which is now worth millions. For some context, the 300 SLR Ulhenhaut is the most expensive car ever sold at auction at $142 million. Other notable cars that wore the three-pointed star included Pagodas and several 300 SL Gullwings SLR McLaren Stirling Moss, the extremely rare Mercedes AMG PureSpeed and AMGs from the Hammer era, i.e. the 1990s. The Koenigsegg CC prototype made its presence known after its victory at The Quail in California.
There was no shortage of even more machines from Stuttgart. Think Porsche 356 Coupes and Speedsters, air-cooled 911s from multiple generations. Elsewhere there were pre-war beauties such as a Blower Bentley in British racing green and a vintage Bugatti racing car. From the 1960s: a bright red Ferrari 275 GTB Shortnose, a C2 Chevy Corvette, a Jaguar E Type and several classic American muscle cars and pickups. We also saw some 1980s side-stroke action in the form of a stunning red pairing: a Lamborghini Countach alongside a Ferrari Testarossa. It wouldn’t be a classic car show without Alfa Romeos and BMWs.
The Poonawalla Rolls-Royce range from India, consisting of all eight generations of the Phantom, a model that celebrates its centenary in 2025, made a statement. Supercar Majlis is also represented with a curated selection of royal hypercars, including a McLaren P1. The legendary Dubai Police, known for its fleet of supercars, showcased some high-performance cars from its active service, including a Mansory G-Wagen. Mercedes had not one, but two stately S600 Mercedes Pullman limousines, both owned by the royal families of Sharjah and Abu Dhabi respectively.
Duccio Lopresto, Managing Director MENA, RM Sotheby’s, explained the change taking place within the GCC’s collector ecosystem while outlining the scale of the upcoming RM Sotheby’s auction in Abu Dhabi this weekend at the inaugural Collector Week. With an estimated lineup of $80 million to $90 million, Valuations is comparable to Monterey.
As for the rally, the first stage now goes from Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah and climbs towards the twists and turns of Jebel Jais. The route continues into the Sultanate of Oman and back to Ras Al Khaimah, then over to the capital of the Emirates, Abu Dhabi, before returning to Dubai. The total race distance is around 1,600 kilometers, just under 1,000 miles. Look out for our exclusive coverage of the 1000 Miglia Experience in the United Arab Emirates on Petrolicious soon.
Images: Khris Bharath
