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Umberto Maglioli

Robert Newman
Umberto Maglioli stands beside his Porsche 550A and looks up from the pits during a break in open practice for the 1955 Targa Florio. The car arrived in Sicily with a bare metal body that was painted white before the race. Photo: Porsche
Umberto Maglioli stands beside his Porsche 550A and looks up from the pits during a break in open practice for the 1955 Targa Florio. The car arrived in Sicily with a bare metal body that was painted white before the race. Photo: Porsche

Umberto Maglioli was a man who clearly knew where he was coming from. He once said he was good at driving extremely powerful cars and explained that, if he and nine other top drivers each competed in 100-hp racers, he would probably come 9th or 10th. If the same 10 raced against each other in vehicles of 250-hp, he would cross the finish line 5th or 6th. But if they each had 500-hp cars, he would win, especially if none of the competitors knew the route, because he could interpret roads instinctively.

That special gift helped him to win the tortuous Targa Florio three times, a record that was never broken. He is probably best remembered, however, for winning Mexico’s last Carrera Panamericana in 1954 in a Ferrari 375 Plus.

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