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Jaguar reveals the Cars & the Stars for the 2014 Mille Miglia

Jodie Kidd in a Jaguar XK 120 ahead of the 2014 Mille Miglia The real Mille Miglia ended in 1957 after a series of crashes saw it cancelled, but it returned in 1977 as the Mille Miglia Storica, a glorious event run over 1,000 miles of beautiful Italian roads featuring cars that ran in the original Mille Miglia. Jaguar has a big history with the Mille Miglia, and has taken to using the annual event to roll out stars to drive its cars for maximum coverage of Jaguar’s Heritage. 2014 is no different – although the number of entries is lower than in previous years – with ten classic Jaguars, including XKs, C-types and one D-type, taking to the Italian roads in May and piloted by a diverse range of star drivers.

Storing classic concept cars is a huge hassle

If you see a dazzling concept car at an auto show this year, consider this: Somebody is going to have to find the space to park it and maintain it in a heritage collection, perhaps until the end of time. Preserving this year's hits as the museum pieces of the future is one of the great backroom issues of the auto industry. If you need to see the first wood-paneled Honda Civic Country station wagon from 1980 for some good reason, Honda has one in storage in Japan.

Driving with criminals

At first it had all the appearances of a routine police checkpoint, a simple little affair in which some warnings might be issued, possibly some speeding tickets. But otherwise our group of 18 or so U.S. automotive journalists driving a fleet of high-priced Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG sedans would be allowed to continue on our merry way through the Spanish countryside.