The Coppa Florio (or Florio Cup) was a

motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

race for automobiles first held in Italy in 1900. It was renamed in 1905 when

Vincenzo Florio Vincenzo Florio Jr. (18 March 1883 – 6 January 1959) was an Italian entrepreneur, heir of the rich Florio entrepreneurial dynasty, one of the wealthiest Italian families during the late 19th century.Lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...

prize money and a

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

designed by Polak of Paris. The cup was to be awarded to the car maker who gained the most wins in the first seven races, beginning with the race held in 1905. In the event, the first seven races were all won by different manufacturers, but

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

won the eighth race in 1925 and thus secured the cup with its second win. However, the competition for the cup continued after

Lucien Rosengart Lucien Rosengart (11 January 1881 in Paris, France – 27 July 1976) was a French engineer. His early life was shaped by carriages and the advance of the automobile age. He first started working as a mechanic at the age of 12, and by age 24 he ...

, then a director of Peugeot, offered to make it available again. The

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

race ran along the route Brescia-

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

-Brescia. In 1908, the race used the ''Circuito di Bologna'':

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

Castelfranco Emilia Castelfranco Emilia ( Western Bolognese: ; Modenese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, north-central Italy. The town lies about northwest of Bologna. Castelfranco either occupies or lies near the site of the ancient For ...

Sant'Agata Bolognese Sant'Agata Bolognese ( Western Bolognese: ; City Bolognese: ) is a small ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, in the north of Italy. It is notable for being the headquarters of the luxury automobile manufacturer Automobi ...

San Giovanni in Persiceto San Giovanni in Persiceto (from 1912 to 1927: ''Persiceto''; Western Bolognese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, northern Italy. Located in the northern part of the Metropolitan City, bordering with the province ...

-Bologna.Ricorda del circuito di Bologna 1908
After 1914, most of the Coppa Florio races were co-organized with the

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

at the

Circuito delle Madonie The Circuito delle Madonie was a road racing course made up of public roads, situated on the Italian island of Sicily, near the capital of Palermo, which hosted the famous Targa Florio event, between 1906 and 1977. The original public roads are ...

circuit outside

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, running four or five laps, 108 km each. Only in 1927 did the race move to

Saint-Brieuc Saint-Brieuc (, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. History Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who Christianised the region in the 6th c ...

, in honour of

's second win in 1925. The race attracted teams from around Europe as well as the 1921 Grand Prix Sunbeams from England and was an opportunity to see Sir Henry Segrave and

Jean Chassagne Jean Chassagne (26 July 1881, in La Croisille-sur-Briance – 13 April 1947) was a pioneer submariner, aviator and French racecar driver active 1906-1930. Chassagne finished third in the 1913 French Grand Prix; won the 1922 Tourist Trophy and fi ...

competing. The winners were: From 1974, the Coppa Florio was revived as a sports car race held at the

Autodromo di Pergusa The Autodromo di Pergusa is an automobile and motorcycle circuit that encircles the only Sicilian natural lake, Pergusa Lake. The circuit is also known as Enna-Pergusa, as the lake is located near the city of Enna. Overview During the 1960s, t ...

in Sicily. The race counted towards the

World Sportscar Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and No ...

most years from 1975, last being held in 1981. In 2020, the Coppa Florio was again revived at Pergusa, being the fifth round of the 2020 24H GT and TCE Series as the Coppa Florio 12 Hours of Sicily. The race was again confirmed as part of the 24H Series calendar, of 2021, being the seventh round of 8 events scheduled for the 2 and 3 of October, but was later cancelled.

Past winners

Winners of revived race

The following is a list of winners of the revived race held at Pergusa:

References

{{reflist Auto races in Italy Florio family 24H Series Sports car races Touring car races Endurance motor racing