There are faster ways to cross Italy. The point, naturally, is not to take them. From 1 – 4 September 2026, Louis Vuitton revived its grand touring tradition with the Dolomites Classic Run 2026, a four-day, 600km journey from Venice through the Dolomites to Monza. It is an expression of the House’s long relationship with the automobile world: since Louis Vuitton’s first flat-topped trunks, the Maison has been concerned with the practicalities – and pleasures – of getting somewhere in style.
Louis Vuitton Dolomites Classic Run 2026
The connection became literal in 1897 when Georges Vuitton created the Auto Trunk, designed for the demands of early motor travel. The Sacs Chauffeur followed in 1905, their circular construction fitting neatly into a car’s spare-wheel well. Excelsior and Roof Trunks followed shortly after. By 1908, Louis Vuitton was supporting the extraordinary New York-to-Paris endurance race. Later came the Louis Vuitton Classic and Concept Awards, celebrating both automotive heritage and its future.
Left: Louis Vuitton Malle Auto, 1924 | Right: Louis Vuitton Malle Auto, 1909
The Classic Run dates back to 1993, with editions through Malaysia, Tuscany, China, and Bohemia, before the 2012 Serenissima Run ended in Venice. This year, Venice was the beginning. The cultural itinerary was as carefully composed as the driving one: Villa Pisani in Stra, the “Queen of Venetian Villas”; Palazzo Ducale, where the new trophy was unveiled; Reggia di Monza and its Villa Reale; and Milan’s Castello Sforzesco, where the final ceremony took place. Louis Vuitton’s involvement extends beyond picturesque backdrops, supporting restoration and conservation projects at these landmarks, including the Sala di Bacco at Villa Pisani and the Sala delle Asse at the Castello.
Louis Vuitton Dolomites Classic Run 2026: Day 3
Then there were the cars. Twenty-two of them: a 1931 Bentley 8 Litre Vanden Plas Two-Seater Drophead; 1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS Spyder Zagato-Aprile; 1931 Bugatti Type 51 Grand Prix; 1933 Mercedes-Benz 380 Special Roadster Erdmann & Rossi; 1937 Lagonda LG45 Rapide; 1939 Aston Martin C-Type Speed Model Roadster Bertelli; 1954 Aston Martin Lagonda DP115; 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing; 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza; 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Zagato; 1956 Ferrari 500 TR Spyder Scaglietti; 1958 Lancia Aurelia B24 S Convertible; 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Spyder California; 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Spyder California Scaglietti; 1961 Ferrari 400 Superamerica; 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Alloy; 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Competizione; 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB4; 1968 Maserati Ghibli Spyder; 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400; 1969 Ferrari 365 GTS; and 1969 Ferrari 365 GTS4 Daytona Spyder Prototype.
This was not a race in the conventional sense. In the regularity format, speed is almost beside the point: driver and navigator must hit prescribed times with extraordinary accuracy. Road tubes measure hundredths of a second; speed tests demand a precise average; time controls impose penalties; daily photo safaris add a scavenger-hunt element, while a jury judges “Beauty in Motion”. Here, precision beats bravado in every sense.
Louis Vuitton Dolomites Classic Run 2026: Day 4
And what better object to embody that philosophy than the trophy? Designed by Dutch artist Sabine Marcelis and made by Italian glassmaker Venini, it travelled from Venice to Milan inside a bespoke Louis Vuitton Trophy Trunk, of course. Handcrafted at their workshops in Asnières, its exterior is the Monogram canvas, finished with golden brass hardware, traditional lozines and the House’s distinctive “V” across the front – making the case itself a prize and foregrounding the continuation of Louis Vuitton’s Trophy Trunk tradition that dates back to 1988.
The final flourish came at Monza. Yesterday, on 4 September, the classics paraded around the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza during the opening of the Formula 1 Pirelli Gran Premio d’Italia 2026: the golden age of motoring meeting contemporary speed.
This relationship in particular has accelerated. Louis Vuitton began making Trophy Trunks for the Monaco Grand Prix in 2021, and in 2025 the House became central to LVMH’s new 10-year global partnership with Formula 1, creating bespoke Trophy Trunks for every Grand Prix. The “V” of Victory, rendered in Monogram, has now become synonymous as it travels across the globe for this championship.
Gianandrea Redaelli, the winner of the Dolomites Classic Run 2026
At Castello Sforzesco, the victory belonged to Gianandrea Redaelli, who was driving the 1939 Aston Martin C-Type Speed Model Bertelli. A veteran of the House’s Classic Runs – he also notably won the 2006 Boheme Run and the 2012 Serenissima Run – Redaelli proved the essential lesson of the Dolomites: the finest journeys aren’t always about arriving first, but about knowing precisely how to travel.
by Imogen Clark