IXLR8

Simon, if you really like driving great mountain roads and need ideas, PM me. I've driven every back road and cart path in the Alps between Mont Blanc and Slovenia. Many are very technical and may not be fun on four wheels. Let me know your driving style if interested.

timothymoffat

I may just hate you right now.

Macca

Camlobe. We headed over to Europe for 6 weeks a couple of years ago and did the following which i have made notes against:

LeMans. Great a must do. June from memory. If your lucky it will be a year the run the LeMans classic - even better than LeMans itself. get there 2 days early for that.

Nurburgring. Did some laps in our rental car. GREAT fun and an all time wish list ticker. Take a video camera so you can remember the fun.

Porsche Museum and factory tour. Of course a must and thy hadnt opened the new museum so an excuse to go back!

Cargraphic factory tour. Ineresting but I wouldnt go out of your way...

Mercedes factory tour Stuttgart. An absolute MUST DO. Was the best organised and most impressive factory tour we did PERIOD!

Ducati factory tour. Well worth the effort if your near Bologna.

Maserati factory tour. Small factory but interesting non the less and the small museum is worth the visit. Close to above.

Pagani factory tour. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. More like a worksop tour (was their original premises andI understand they may have moved and expanded now). Very low key, very exclusive gear. Alot to dribble over.

Ferrari Museum. Commercialism on steroids. Dont be afraid to miss it!

Hope that helps for some ideas. Also saw some private collections and others but above are the main venues...

camlob

Hi M, do the factory tours require booking in advance or do I just show up? So it seems like France, Germany and Italy! Saw a topgear vid on the Pagani factory and it looks quaint and hi tech!

Macca

Hi C. Yes I booked the Porsche one in advance and that is mandatory. Also the Mercedes one is a good idea to advance book in summer and you cant just walk into Pagani - you definately need to get advance clearance on that one too. The Ducati factory were fussy bust dissporganised (Italians) so you could have walked in off the street but the Lambo one was forward booked.

Great trip - Lots of great memories including some crazy drives, some crazy cars and lovely people. Driving over the Swiss alps and through Italy was a highlight...

Cheers
M

Robert993TT

1. Nowadays it´s not possible to drive a standard German rental car at the Nurburgring. For a while it was very popular to go there with rented standard car hired at the airport.

2. I was at the Maserati factory about 3 years ago. You should probably contact them in advance. Well worth a visit. Interesting to see how they have modernized the old factory which is located almost in the middle of the town of Modena.

3. In the case of the Ferrari Museum, one can summarize it in a way. Is it one big disappointment. Like the above person said, it is extremely commercially and should be avoided. Instead, choose to go and look at the many private car collection that is around Modena. In retrospect, it is what I should have done.

When visiting the Nüburgring you should know that´s Spa Francorchamps in Belgium is only 69 km (43 miles) away. The Stelvio Pass in Italy is 499 km (310 miles away.

Kein_Ersatz

Must do the Ring. Must get a ride at the Ring (BMW Taxi or rent a car[ rentaracecar.de] and get Theo to give you an into lap). Rent a small car, FWD is your friend, 4 Ring laps will be enough in a day. Save flat out driving for the Autobahn, the Ring is not forgiving.

IXLR8

I got an e-mail from Sabine Schmitz a couple of weeks ago...rides in her Porsche are all booked for 2011, at least for June.

Good videos on Sabine's SpeedBee site.

clubsport1

Unfortunately classic lemans is every 2 years, the next one is 2012...the regular lemans 24 hours is in June, there is not much Porsche content and the atmosphere is now like a spring break at Daytona beach.
Porsche club Belgium have Spa booked from 20-22 may 2011, there are normally hundreds of Porsches (only) going round the track.