Louis Vuitton Is Racing 22 Vintage Cars From Venice to Monza & the Trophy Trunk Alone Is Worth the Trip

The opening day of the Louis Vuitton Dolomites Classic Run 2026 began the way only Louis Vuitton could arrange it: at Villa Pisani in Stra, the “Queen of Venetian Villas,” built in 1720, surrounded by nearly 14 hectares of Versailles-inspired gardens, and opened to the public for the very first time following the restoration of its estate. Twenty-two exceptional vintage cars from the world’s most prestigious collections were presented on the grounds — a fleet of mid-20th century engineering at its absolute pinnacle, each one chosen not merely for its rarity but as a living artifact of the golden age of travel. The setting was not incidental. It was the point.

Photo Credit: Louis Vuitton

Running from September 1st to September 4th, the Louis Vuitton Dolomites Classic Run 2026 traces approximately 600 kilometers from Venice through the UNESCO World Heritage landscape of the Dolomites before arriving in Monza — home to the legendary Temple of Speed — where the cars will parade on the Autodromo Nazionale circuit during the opening of the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix. The rally concludes with an award ceremony at Milan’s Castello Sforzesco. It is, in every sense, a route designed to make you feel the full weight of where you are.

Photo Credit: Louis Vuitton

This is not a speed race. The Louis Vuitton Dolomites Classic Run is a regularity rally, where victory is determined not by who arrives first but by who navigates with the most precision and timing — crews of driver and navigator judged on their synchronization with the machine and the route rather than the pace of either. It is a format that demands a different kind of skill, and one that suits the spirit of the event perfectly. Louis Vuitton has been running classic car rallies since 1993, when the first took the House through the lush Malaysian jungle. The Dolomites Classic Run is the first since the Louis Vuitton Classic Serenissima Run in 2012, which ended, fittingly, in Venice — exactly where this one begins.

Photo Credit: Louis Vuitton

As dusk fell over Venice on the evening of September 1st, Louis Vuitton unveiled the centerpiece of the 2026 edition at the Palazzo Ducale: the official Trophy and its bespoke Louis Vuitton Trophy Trunk. The Trophy was commissioned from designer Sabine Marcelis and produced by Venini, the prestigious Italian art glass Maison — a collaboration between two of the most exacting creative practices working today. Friend of the House Giulia Maenza unveiled it, wearing a white mesh pleated dress with Idylle Blossom High Jewelry earrings set with two LV Monogram Star cut diamonds. The unveiling was accompanied by a special performance conceived and staged by Fabio Cherstich, exploring movement, heritage, and artistic metamorphosis — a sensory overture to the journey ahead.

The Trophy Trunk itself is the kind of object Louis Vuitton has been making since 1988: a bespoke, handcrafted trunk built at the historic Asnières-sur-Seine workshops, covered in Monogram canvas adorned with the iconic “V” for Victory and Vuitton, with traditional lozines, golden brass corners, and locks that speak the house’s full visual language. It continues a tradition that now spans the FIFA World Cup, the Ballon d’Or, Formula 1’s Grand Prix de Monaco, the NBA, Roland Garros, and the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics. “Victory travels in Louis Vuitton” is not a marketing line. It is, at this point, a documented fact.

Photo Credit: Louis Vuitton

The cultural dimension of the rally runs alongside the automotive one throughout. Louis Vuitton partnered with the Venetian Heritage Foundation to support the restoration of the 18th-century Sala di Bacco at Villa Pisani, extending a relationship with Venice’s Civic Museums through which over 200 artworks have been restored and returned to the city since 2013. Just a few kilometers from Villa Pisani, the house’s shoe workshop in Fiesso d’Artico — inaugurated in 2009 and home to nearly 200 hand-crafted operations per pair — serves as a reminder that the Art of Travel and the art of making things by hand have always been the same conversation at Louis Vuitton.