The 1000 Miglia Village has been synonymous with historic cars and pre-race sealing since 1927. Here, the livery of the first car to drive sections of the 1000 Miglia 2023 route in Autonomous Drive mode was unveiled today. 1000 Miglia Autonomous Drive project was conceived and developed by the Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with 1000 Miglia srl and with the support and patronage of the National Centre for Sustainable Mobility. It represents the world’s first experimentation of autonomous vehicles on public roads open to traffic, characterised by a high variety of routes.
From 13 to 17 June, the brand-new Maserati MC20 Cielo, with all the “robo-driver” technological elements installed, will drive the entire route of the race, tackling some route sections in Autonomous Driving mode in absolute compliance with the Highway Code. In order to comply with the authorisation requirements for experimentation, the vehicle will have to be supervised by a human co-driver. Matteo Marzotto will be the co-driver. He is an experienced driver who has taken part in numerous editions of the historic 1000 Miglia and will celebrate the 70th anniversary of his uncle Giannino’s victory in the 1000 Miglia 1953. Marzotto will sit alongside the A.I.-driver, the modern art object developed by the Politecnico Design Department unveiled today for the first time.
1000 MAD aims to increase the technical skills of Italian industry in the development of sustainability, making the general public aware of the existence of this technology, which has already achieved significant results but still has enormous room for technological, cultural and regulatory growth: the project will contribute to defining procedures to promote the use and development of autonomous cars, creating a connection between administrations and the main Italian research centres. The 1000 Miglia 2023 will only be the first step in the presentation of the project: this will be followed by a year of experimental refinement of the A.I.-driver technology during which the car will be tested on a route similar to that of the race on municipal, provincial and state roads and small stretches of motorway; with the ambitious goal of driving the entire route of the 1000 Miglia 2024 in autonomous mode.
