April 13, 1930, shortly after 5 a.m. The silence on Lake Garda is broken by the engine sound of an Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Spider Zagato, which is traveling at 150 km / h - with the headlights switched off. Tazio Nuvolari sits on the steering wheel Mantua, nickname “Nivola.” Next to him, co-driver Gian Battista Guidotti, chief test driver at the Alfa Romeo plant in Portello.

This moment of the fourth edition of the Mille Miglia, with a length of around 1,600 kilometers, the most demanding road race of its time, is the origin of a myth. Alfa Romeo works driver Achille Varzi and co-driver Carlo Canavesi seemed to be heading for a sure win. But her teammates Nuvolari and Guidotti, who had previously been in second place, developed a daring idea. Their only hope of beating the rivals was to surprise them. So they turned off the headlights.

The dawn broke. After Lake Garda, the route led through flat land towards the destination in Brescia. Suddenly Varzi and Canavesi heard the echo of another engine. Too late. Before they realized what was happening, they were overtaken by an identical car.