Semitone

Monetthecat

I'll third Hochstrasse. Short drive from Stuttgart and nice scenic drive.

Also second on Grossglockner. Just be aware that it may be crowded, but its a gorgeous drive. Done it 3 times and really enjoyed the drive between Leinz and the top of Grossglockner is wonderful.

I've driven in Switzerland and agree they are neurotic about speed limits, but I wouldn't rule the whole country out. Staying in the Lucern or Interlaken areas you can hit a number of passes include Furka (as seen in Goldfinger), Susten, Nufenenpass and Oberalp Pass. You could hit all those in 1 day. My wife and I take the team approach with her reading out the speed limits as they change and me setting cruise control to that number minus 1 kph. So far no issues.

uury

Furka is the single most terrifying road I've ever driven (especially the Uri side of the pass). Grimsel Pass is great, and Susten Pass, I would argue, is one of the best driving roads in the world. Definitely not to be missed. You can hit Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen while you're there (both are within easy driving distance of all the mountain pass fun, and are absolutely gorgeous to boot).

Monetthecat

Thanks for the info on Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen. I'll be in Interlaken this August for 3 days. I'll have to hit those.

I'm curious why Furka scared you. I didn't think it was that bad

uury

It was a combination of things for me -- the weather was overcast and foggy, and it was in early June, so the roads were still pretty wet with snowmelt. The walls of snow on either side of the road were still 2m+ tall, and a lot of the curves were even more blind than usual. Couple that with the usual complement of caravans going up and down the pass, and it made for quite the adventure. It probably didn't help that this was the first mountain pass I drove in the 911, either. I was definitely feeling more confident by the time Susten rolled around. Also, the Valais side of the pass is much, MUCH easier to drive (2 lanes, divided, fewer blind corners, etc).

String33

I have done 2 EDs in the last few years. Just a couple of tips.

1. I really like Stuttgart. I guess I'm in the minority here. The Porsche factory is great if you like Porsche stuff. They have moved the delivery center since the last time I was there, but in the past, once you made it past security the first time, they kind of just let you in and you could walk around on your own. There are a lot of interesting things to see and windows to look into. The factory tour is great too. I would skip the lunch at the casino and eat at the Boxenstop Cafe in the museum instead. I would also eat dinner at Restaurant Christophorous in the museum. Really expensive but they only have one seating a night and you can easily spend a few hours eating and drinking watching Porsches move from the body shop to the factory. Reservations required.

2. More on Stuttgart. The Mercedes Museum is great even if you don't like cars. It's a just a great museum. The Mercedes factory in Sindelfingen is the best car factory tour I have done (and I have done a lot). You get to go in to body shop and watch them make S classes. I got hit with sparks when I was there. It was cool. You can get there on the Stuttgart subway. You can probably drive there too. Reservations required.

3. Drive less than you think you will want to and build extra time into your plans. Every time I have done this, something has happened. Last time I got to drive my brand new 981 off-road because the autobahn was completely closed down and we were all stuck. Seriously. Way off-road. I lost 4 hours that day. It was still great, but things happen. Also, no matter how great a driver and navigator you are and no matter how good your GPS is, it's exhausting driving in Germany. After 2 or 3 hours driving, you will be beat. Any more than that and you will be exhausted.

4. Have fun! Don't worry about the car. You have the best insurance money can buy, and if something happens, there's no better place to fix it. I hear they use only OEM parts.

Randy M

Thanks for your contribution to the thread. Yes I'm mindful of packing too many miles in and/or too many driving days. I will be with my wife on this trip and while the emphasis is on the car, backroads etc we'll still need to relax. I also dont want to adhere to a rigid schedule as we may take a detour here or there if we see something of interest or want to visit an area that we hadn't originally planned.

GTSdds

Randy M

My car's born on date was 7/24... I chose to get a custom trip done by fastlanetravel.com and will be going to Stuttgart (of course) the ring, Baden Baden, Black Forest, Lindau and Lake Constance, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Grossglockner, Garmish-Partenkirchen, Munich for Oktoberfest, Sindelfingen to drop off the car then back to Frankfurt to fly home.

Of course the trip at this point is still being planned so if there is any 'cant miss' stops along my route I continue to appreciate your comments...

Semitone

I'm sure the folks organizing your trip will have a list of places to stop off and see along the way.

A couple (car related) suggestions from me;

Outside Salzburg: The Red Bull Hanger and the Hans-Peter Porsche Traumwerk

On the way to Baden Baden: Cite de l'AutomobileMullhouse, France) Outstanding car collection, over the top collection of Bugattis. (might be a bit of a detour depending on your route)

TRAKCAR

Andermatt has a great hotel (Chedi) and its a good intersection to run a few passes and then down to the lakes into Italy.

jdondis

My wife and I just completed the ED and had a blast - bucket list quality. All of the recommendations in the threads above were helpful in our planning. Looking back, here are a few thoughts.

The delivery was scheduled for a Tuesday at 8am so we decided to arrive in Stuttgart on Monday to get acclimated, and we both agree that arriving on the same day as the delivery would have diminished the quality of the epic day. After our arrival on Monday we toured the V8 complex (look it up online) and had lunch out there as well, really fun and quite unique. We did not stay at the V8 hotel due to the distance and drive to the factory the next day and wanted to have dinner in the Alt Stadt area of Stuttgart.

The entire delivery experience was really special. My wife took photos and videos while our delivery specialist Herr Tillman dialed in the details. The tour of the museum was fantastic and lunch at Porsche HQ was a treat. Then, I could not wait to drive! On a typical day we would drive 1 to 3 hours before lunch and the same or less after depending on the schedule. That amount fit us perfectly as we wanted time to explore as well. If we were to change anything, it might be to stay a minimum of 2 nights in most if not all places. If you happen to drive through the town of Soelden, you must stop to see the new James Bond museum at 10,000 feet - really cool. As everyone has mentioned, the passes in Switzerland are awesome and will be lifetime memories for us. So much so, that my wife says she wants a Porsche and to do the whole ED trip again. Back to work...

If there was one thing that made the trip effortless, it was designing the entire trip using Google Maps - My Maps and downloading the maps to our phones. The process is very easy and there are good 2 to 3 minute tutorials on YouTube. By using the layer system in Google Maps for driving routes, lodging, attractions and restaurants everything was in our devices and we did not need 1 piece of paper. Here's a screen shot of the map. If anyone would like to a digital copy the map to edit and plan a trip just send me an email from a gmail account and I will send you a copy to edit and use as you please.

fastcars914

Unfortunately, I'm not of much help with the driving aspect of your question. However, I've spent 2 weeks in Germany last year and nearly a week there this year. I always felt very safe (well, except eastern Berlin). Munich I felt very safe in and had no fear of thieves/pick pockets/etc. Not that you shouldn't be cautious, but I wouldn't agonise over it. Ditto for Salzburg in Austria. I absolutely LOVE Munich, I could spend a couple weeks there and still not want to come back. Hope you have a great trip!

Randy M

Thanks for all the comments fellas. I'm six weeks away. Trying to get PPF applied before I take delivery which has so far has born no fruit. I take delivery on a Friday, most shops are closed on the weekends and I don't want to burn more days in Stuttgart than I have to.

uury

I didn't bother getting PPF before I picked mine up, and it survived two weeks in the alps with no chips. You'll be fine. Just don't tailgate any trucks.