About this car in Florence

Red and Italian roads have a long history together, and the SS65 over the Futa is where it was written: the Mille Miglia came south this way from Bologna for decades. Driving it in a red GT3 with the Weissach package, carbon bonnet and roof exposed, is about as close as a modern road car gets to that story, and the pass begins barely half an hour from the centre of Florence.

The naturally aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six gives 510 hp and revs freely, rear-wheel drive puts it down, and the lighter Weissach parts sharpen the front end on the tighter bends below the Raticosa. The car is a two-seater with bucket seats; luggage means a soft bag. Closer to town, the climb through San Domenico to Fiesole is a short, slow alternative for an evening, ending at the Roman theatre and a view over the whole city. Winter tyres are fitted in the cold season, as the Apennines require from 15 November to 15 April.

Timing matters in June. Calcio Storico Fiorentino takes over Piazza Santa Croce through the month, with the final on 24 June, and the surrounding streets close; on top of that, the centre inside the viali is always a camera-controlled ZTL. The easiest plan is to collect the car at Firenze Peretola, Pisa Galileo Galilei or Santa Maria Novella, or at your hotel garage if the hotel registers the plate. We arrange the handover with your booking.

• Weissach package: exposed carbon on a red 510 hp GT3
• The SS65 Futa road, part of the Mille Miglia, starts half an hour from Florence
• Handover at Peretola, Pisa, Santa Maria Novella or your hotel garage