The first self-driving car is to debut at this year’s Mille Miglia round-Italy auto racing classic. A Maserati MC20 Cielo, reworked by Milan’s Politecnico University, will set off in the historic competition, within the framework of the '1000-MAD' (1000 Miglia Autonomous Drive) project, which represents the first test in the world of autonomous vehicles on public roads, stretching for 1,.500 kilometres and with a time frame of over 12 months.
From June 13 to 17 the Maserati MC20 Cielo will travel the entire course of the Mille Miglia, tackling some parts of the course in autonomous drive mode. A request for authorization is pending at the transport and infrastructure ministry, in particular for permission to drive through the cities of Bergamo and Brescia, Italian Culture Capital 2023, as well as Milan, Ferrara, Modena and Parma.
After finishing the “most beautiful race in the world”, a year of intense development and experimental fine-tuning will begin, in which the vehicle will be ‘trained’ on a course similar to the Mille Miglia, on municipal, provincial and state roads, and also partly on stretches of motorway, with the goal of completing the entire course of the Mille Miglia 2024 in self-driving mode.
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