| Author | Message | ||
| Martin (Miami348ts)
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The Autobahn is the greatest thing the Germans did. I know, I am one of them... I had a Testarossa at max speed one evening going home from my office at 190Mph (300 Km/h). At least that is what showed on the Rev Meter. Gets a big grin on your face and the thought: if I die now, I die in a Ferrari, with the prancing horse imprinted in my forehead! It took a great deal of time and one traffic ticket until I learned that most american drivers do not know what that mirror on the windshield is for, nor what the two mouse like looking mirrors are for on the outside of the car. Getting a drivers license in Germany costs $2,000 if you are good, 45 minimum school hours, some of them mandatory Autobahn hours and the instructor (state certified)does not let you drive 55Mph gotta go 100Mph. It is great to read your post and the fun you had. I have passed the St. Gotthard Tunnel several times while living in Monaco going back and forth to Germany. The region is truely a gem. Concerning shipping your US cars. You can drive US Cars legal in Germany and most other european countries. Ship your registered and insured car to Europe and get a supplement basic insurance coverage from places like the Automobil CLub. They cover Europe (Western) and it costs a few Dollars. Make sure your Comp and Collission will cover you also oversears. If not see that you get that insurance in the States extra. You will not be able to get it in Europe. The supplement will only cover the other damage. I drove a Puerto Rico licendes BMW in Monaco for a while. No problems. | ||
| Michael A. Niles (Man90tr)
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Ferrari chat tour of Europe Great idea, William. Count me in -- I'll ship over the TR. Damn that would be awesome. | ||
| chris cummings (Entelechy)
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Jay, Thanks for sharing that wonderful experience - I love reading stories like that. The way you described it really helped me imagine it in detail. In fact, I copied it and forwarded it to some friends I knew would appreciate it. Might be cool to have people write in with their driving experiences here on the site. I recall another one I read about a guy just receiving his new 360 and taking it out for the first time. Great stuff! Thanks again, ~Chris | ||
| Sergio Lenchig (Serlen)
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Jay: Thanks for the extense and detailed information surely you have clarified me all the doubts and will follow your advice.Rental could be expensive but definetly safer.I love my 360 and woudn't risked just for the heck of it although I keep thinking what would be the feeling of driving your own car in the autobahn without the sensation of being pursued all the time as it is here in Florida.Thanks again. Grazie! | ||
| Jay P. Ross (Eilig)
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Hi Sergio, et.al. -- I encountered the same problems that you did when I attempted to take my ZR-1 to Europe for this driving experience. As you probably know, the ZR-1 has a 4-cam, 32 valve V8, and as such it would be perfect for day-long, high-speed Autobahn adventuring. The problem was that I was going to have to ship to England, then transport to mainland Europe via Ferry, then pickup at undesirable location. Also, I had heard nightmares about guys who had done the same, only to have customs agents ripping up carpets and interior panels searching for contraban, drugs, etc. And the last thing I want is to have the interior ripped in my pristine ZR-1, or get a new scratch, etc. And by the time I added up the cost of shipping, insurance, export permit, etc, it was just waaaaaaay to cost prohibitive to even consider. I could have gotten around much of this with an air shipment, but that REALLY costs lots. So like you, I concluded rental would be safer, easier, and more cost effective. I found a southern German company called "Scuderia von Ruschenberg" for the rental. They have something like 15 different Ferrari models available (including the F40 and F50! wow!). They deliver the car direct to you anywhere in Europe via enclosed carrier. I flew into Munich, and told them when my plane arrived, and they were waiting for me at the airport parking lot, ready to roll. Worked out great! The rental included full insurance coverage, with a $4,000 damage deposit that is refunded upon return. The deposit is forfeited if you total the car, but the nice thing is that insurance would cover the rest. So if you totaled a $200,000 Ferrari, you'd only be out the $4,000 deposit. Their rates vary depending on which model you rent, what days you rent it, and the number of days for your rental period. I rented a brand new 360 Modena 6-speed (it only had 2,800km on the odometer when I picked it up!!) for 2 weeks total. Including the small delivery fee, and all insurance, I think it cost me something like $12,500. For two weeks, I had something like 3,000 free kilometers. If I had exceeded that amount(which I did not) it would have costed extra. Yeah I know it's lots of money, but shipping my ZR-1 back and forth would have cost almost as much, PLUS the risk of damaging the car in transit, and the headaches of shipment. Not to mention that I got to fulfill a lifelong dream of driving a Ferrari on the Autobahn! I'm really glad I did it. Hope that answers your question. That's all I can think of. The guys who I rented from were great. When I returned the car, they gave me all this Michael Schumacher garb (i.e. t-shirt, polo, jacket, etc). They don't speak any English, but through gestures and Ferrari-jargon, we all knew what each other were saying! "Scuderia von Ruschenberg" is opening a North American office in January. It would be easiest to go through them, since they'll have some English speakers. But they'll reply to email sent to: [email protected]. Also, faxed correspondence seems to go direct to their translators if sent to (402) 390-9262. I've always received timely reply by sending to this fax. Oh yeah, William, fortunately there was no ice on the roads. Though it had snowed a few days earlier, the sun at that altitude is REALLY warm, so the streets were dry, warm, and grippy for those Pirelli P-Zero's!! Ciao! | ||
| William H (Countachxx)
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Lucky basticth  Rob r u listening ? We should do a Ferrari Chat tour of Europe, that would rule. Sept or october is best for me | ||
| William_Huber (Solipsist)
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Nice car Jay, do you worry about ice on the road? | ||
| Sergio Lenchig (Serlen)
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I own a 360 F1 the same color as the one you had in your wonderful trip to Europe and I really envy you because I've been trying for a long time to figure out how to make a similar trip also to Europe but using my own car and so far I have not been able to find out how to get a temporary export permit and if so can I drive in Europe with the Florida pesonalized plates I have in the car? I've also been told that doing this it would be so expensive that it would be cheaper to rent a 360 for a month or more.Did you use your own or did you rent and how much did you pay if it was rented.All the input you can give to this discussion I believe it would be greatly appreciated by me and some others. | ||
| Willis Huang (Willis360)
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Nice. I wish I could join you in my black 360. | ||
| BretM (Bretm)
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Che bella. | ||
| Jay P. Ross (Eilig)
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| Jay P. Ross (Eilig)
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Back in September I had the opportunity to spend 2 weeks driving a 360 Modena on the German Autobahn, and through the Alps of Bavaria, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy. As it was probably the single most increcible eexperience of my life, so I thought I'd share it with all of you. As the owner of Corvettes (Z06, ZR-1, LT-1), I can truly attest to the quality of the 360 Modena. I drove the car HARD, and never once did it miss a beat. The build quality is rock solid. The handling is razor sharp, but never harsh or uncomfortable. And unlike the Porsche 996 that I drove LAST year on the Autobahn, the front end of the 360 does never feels light at speeds over 150 mph. The faster I drove it, the better it clung to the road. This car generates tons of downforce, and without unsightly spoilers or aesthetically invasive means. For those of you not familiar with the German Autobahn, there is not speed limit in rural areas, so you can LEGALLLY drive as fast as you like. The quality of the road is incredible, with no bumps, cracks, potholes, patches, or vibrations. And unlike some highways here in the US, there's no annoying whirring or buzzing sound as you pass over textured pavement at high speed. And German drivers know how to drive. The left lane is always open, with the occasional exception of other drivers going REALLY fast, or making a pass and then immediately getting out of your way. In Germany, you can't even get your driver's license until age 18. You must take an expensive driving course costing thousands of dollars, then pass comprehensive written and driving examinations. So needless to say, German drivers are well-trained, and accustomed to high speed driving. There were numerous times when I hit a LEGAL 175 mph in the car, and it was still pulling. A couple of times I even bumped the rev limited when pulling to the top of 5th gear. Not sure what my speed was, but it must have been in excess of 150 mph. When you combine the tightness of the car, the confidence-inspiring brakes, the stability at high speed, the quickness at which you can ATTAIN the speed, the predictability of the German drivers, and the quality pavement on the Autobahn, believe me when I tell you that 175 mph is not at all scary. Very controlled, and very enjoyable. Wow. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I got into the Alps. Now THAT was truly a delight for the senses. Hearing the 40 valve V8 echo through the Alpine canyons as I revved up to nearly 8000 rpm during upshifts, as well as the exhaust pop and cackle as I blipped the throttle during high-speed downshifts. Twisty after twisty, going through the gated gears. Unbelievable. The Swiss definitely do the best job of maintaining their Alpine roads. They are impeccably smooth, clean, and maintained. But if you REALLY want the best Alpine driving experience in the world, you gotta hit the Austrian Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse. This is a TOLL road that winds through the Austrian Alps. The views are incredible, the roads are built for high speed turns, with lots of hairpins, and best of all, there's NO other traffic to get in your way. I'll try to attach some pics. These were taken in the Alps of southern Switzerland, at St. Gotthard's Pass. This road was orginally constructed in order to facilitate trade between the Northern and Southern regions of the Holy Roman Empire. There's a 12 mile tunnel that burrows UNDER this pass, which most domestic traffic uses for convenience. That's good because there's not much traffic driving the pass, where of course all of the fun is to be had! Anyway, I'll quit my babbling now. But just thought I'd share the experience with all of you. Its 2 months later now, and I STILL get goosebumps thinking it! Now all I gotta do is figure out how to afford buying one here in the States! c:\aol30\download  014_14.jpg  |