Charging, sleep and logistics complicate EVs at Mille Miglia Green

A Polestar 3 took part in this year’s Mille Miglia Green, the five-day electric-car class of the historic Mille Miglia road rally in Italy that traced a route from Brescia to Rome and back. Spectators often preferred internal combustion cars, with one onlooker shouting “no sound, no feeling!” at the EV.

Seven electric cars competed for points over roughly 1,200 km of raced sections based on time, distance and average speed. The author’s team—using an iPhone stopwatch and Waze rather than rally computers—struggled with short red-highlighted time trials, navigation, and average-speed sections while driving behind a pace car and police escort.

Charging and logistics proved central challenges: some public chargers were limited to 48 kW, some plugs were not recognized by certain cars, and the team used a 170 kW Intuity charger to add 62 kWh in 32 minutes to reach 90 percent state of charge and about 330 km range. The combination of charging stops and early starts left competitors sleep-deprived (about four hours on average) and contributed to missed photo opportunities, including a parade through Rome.

Results and takeaways were mixed. The Polestar 3 generally outperformed range estimates and consumed just shy of 20 kW per 100 km, but the team finished ahead of only the Polestar 2 and the G 580 in the Green.

Key Topics

Sports, Mille Miglia Green, Intuity, Brescia, Rome, Mirco Magni