The house’s Dolomites Classic Run marks the return of a dormant tradition, timed to LVMH’s decade-long Formula 1 partnership
Louis Vuitton will stage a 600-kilometer classic-car rally through Italy this September, reviving a tradition that has been dormant since 2012 and aligning it with the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
The Louis Vuitton Dolomites Classic Run departs September 1 from Villa Pisani near Venice. It unfolds over four days, crossing the Dolomites before culminating at the Monza racetrack during the Grand Prix weekend. Twenty-five owners of classic cars manufactured up to 1970, with marques including Bugatti, Maserati and Ferrari expected among the lineup, have been invited to take part. The vehicles will also go on public display at Villa Reale in Monza on September 5 and 6.
Pietro Beccari, chairman and chief executive officer of Louis Vuitton, said the run reconnects the house to a history with the automobile that predates the sport itself, pointing to Georges Vuitton’s early trunks, which doubled as tool boxes and spare tire cases for the first cars. He described the timing as an opportunity to reassert that connection at a moment when the brand’s ties to Formula 1 are already deepening under LVMH’s ten-year sponsorship deal.
The route also folds in Italian heritage sites, with participants visiting Villa Pisani, Milan’s Castello Sforzesco and the Villa Reale in Monza, where the prize-giving ceremony will take place. The trophy, designed by Sabine Marcelis and produced by Murano glassmaker Venini, will be presented inside a bespoke Vuitton trunk.
The rally’s return lands as the house continues to lean into sports partnerships as a route to cultural relevance, following its America’s Cup activation in Barcelona and its expanding roster of athlete ambassadors. Where past classic runs traveled through Malaysia, China and Central Europe, this one stays close to home, tying Vuitton’s automotive heritage directly to a Grand Prix weekend for the first time.
