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For any of you still on the fence about whether to do European delivery, it is absolutely worth it! We spent 2 weeks traveling through several countries on what was one of our most memorable trips ever. I've posted a bunch of photos here, to give an overview of what we did.

We started in Zuffenhausen (Stuttgart), where we picked up the car. Here is the entrance where we started, plus a photo inside of the Porsche Exclusive design area with a nice PTS example.

The factory tour was about 2 hours, and it was pretty amazing how clean and quiet the factory floor was. We saw a number of GT3 engines on the line (easily distinguishable from other engines by the large external oil reservoir). No photos inside the factory grounds, but I did snap a photo of a Weissach package 918 driving past before they collected our cameras for the tours. By blind luck all 8 of us in our tour group were Canadians, so we all sat down together for a nice lunch before picking up our car. We got a 911 turbo loaner in white.

(Being a Monday, the museum was closed, but we were able to go when we dropped off the car. They were very nice to us and even drove us over in a Cayenne to help us with our luggage, which they stored for us too while in the museum.)

SamFromTX

Nice!

0Q991

Fantastic! Any more pics?

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Ok, so to the roads. We drove through quite a few countries: Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy. And put on nearly 5000 km on our car.

Of course we hit the autobahn, where we topped out in the 250 km/h range due to traffic conditions being too busy to go much faster. But still amazing, and not something I could ever do at home.

Probably the most enjoyable were the smaller roads, winding up through forests and fields and hills, traversing beautiful mountain passes, and leading through amazing little villages. We loved the roads through Belgium from Namur to Dinant and through the Ardennes forest. But the most spectacular were the Alps. We went through several passes, but really enjoyed Col du Galibier and the Grimselpass. These were open at this time of year (early June) and conditions were excellent. Not too much traffic either. There were of course the superhuman cyclists who had lots to celebrate at the summits! (Some RLers can lay claim to this feat, although not me.) Overall, wonderful driving, with many varied and engaging roads.

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Our travels took us through many interesting places and we met fascinating people along the way. In Bassins, near Geneva, we met a wonderful man who restored Porsche cars and showed us around his garage (where he had a few '73s and a Lola in his garage--cars from all over Europe that owners brought to him; even PAG had come to visit his shop and were apparently amazed at his workmanship).

We have lots of family in Holland, and friends in Switzerland, and it was great to see them. The car was a hit, and the kids all took turns to sit in it and go for a spin.

We visited places we'd always wanted to go to. Epernay and the Champagne region (Moet et Chandon's cellars), Lago Maggiore, villages like les Baux de Provence and Saint Paul de Vence, Zermatt (hiking around the Matterhorn and 5 lakes trails), the Interlaken region, etc etc etc.

We even ran into a group of Porsche enthusiasts out for a little drive.

SamFromTX

So pretty.

fibredog

Beautiful Pics. ED is on my bucket list for someday.

redleg321

Great panoramic pics and views! Any more info on that orange 918? It looks absolutely mouthwatering.

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The trip wouldn't be complete without enjoying the many amazing places to stay. We were fortunate to have many friends and family to visit, including parking in one of our friend's garages near Geneva where parking space was at a premium, and watching the car being lowered down the lift offered a nice view of the curves of the wide back end of the turbo.

There were the small B&B type of places, including a lovely example in Haybes, France which was one of only a few structures to survive bombing in this little village and had hosted even Napolean in the past. And of course there were the lavish hotels in the Cote d'Azur, including a very enjoyable and relaxing stay in Cap d'Antibes, and a great view from the terrace before dinner at the starred Chateau de la Chèvre d'Or restaurant in Eze.

My wife enjoyed shopping in Monaco, and we did see and drive on the same roads as the F1 circuit there (the grandstands and barriers were just being removed while we were there).

Overall, we had so many amazing experiences and will always remember this trip fondly. When we finally dropped off the car, it went back to hang out with its other turbo and targa cousins--a sad day for us. And while we didn't get to drive our own GT3 around, the turbo loaner was a very comfortable and competent substitute for this trip. And I was very grateful to have put a few miles on one for comparison. Looking forward to picking up the GT3 in the fall, and very grateful for the wonderful way we were treated by Porsche and all its representatives.

If any of you have questions about our itinerary or places to stay, etc, please PM me. Happy travels to all of you who choose to enjoy the best of Europe some day too!

Serge944

Nice!

The recall is a blessing in disguise for euro delivery. You get to tour Europe in one hell of a car without putting mileage on your GT3.

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Redleg, sorry, I don't know much about that particular 918. In the span of about 20 minutes while waiting for the tour to start I glimpsed 3 918's including a blue and silver one on the factory grounds. Two of them, the orange one included, just glided by while I was watching workers walking from building to building (the blue was parked in the "customer" parking area). The orange was the only Weissach package car with the carbon roof and extra aero and looked as if it was being driven by a factory guy moving the car within the secured areas of the campus.

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Serge, yes, it was great. Some friends we met there (actually a previous boss) had some minor damage on their car while driving, so it was quite nice to not worry about those sorts of things including probably putting a few hundred (?thousand) dollars of wear and tear on tires/etc on the car. And then I get to pick up a new car later. But there is something to be said for taking your own car through Europe and I lost the chance to create memories and some level of attachment to the car this way. My wife was happy to have the extra luxurious feature the turbo offers too. Plus we would have had a little more space in the frunk (no 90 L fuel tank on this one), and the back seats for family and friends on the rare occasion came in handy. So overall, it worked out well.

Jimmy-D

What beautiful pictures. I would certainly love to also hear your impressions of the 991 Turbo. I had a 997.2 Turbo and really liked it. In retrospect, I wish I never traded it in for the Audi Spyder V10. Even my Father, who would come to Chicago to visit me, cursed me when I sold it. He loved the Guards red color.- no I am getting nostalgic

Nick

Great trip; brings back many memories. Better yet, you drive around in a 991TT and not put any miles on your GT3. Can't beat that!

Jimmy-D

Just like what I am doing with the loaner