Route suggestions - Maranello - London

Why should the French confiscate your new F12?
Sounds strange to me. Unless you don't behave, of course.

Marcel Massini

 

You could go Italy, Austria and/or Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and then to the UK via the Esbjerg-Harwich ferry. Depending on the route, the Davos Stelvio pass could be part of it, which is a great drive.

Please fill us in on the specs of your car.

Cheers.

 

I am SWISS, not French. Live near Zurich (but 30 mins from German border).
Oh, and the speed limits in Switzerland are even lower than in France.
We have thousands (yes!) of radars, basically every 2 or 3 miles. Entire country.
Don't even think about driving thru Switzerland, best is to just avoid it completely.
And yes, in Switzerland they can easily confiscate the car if you drive 30 km/h over the limit.
One Scandinavian was fined here in Switzerland with 800'000 Euros for excessive speeding, another guy, a Swiss with a Testarossa, with 400'000 Swiss Frrancs. Both cars confiscated. One can easily go to jail for up to two years. Zero tolerance.
In Germany you will find highways without speed limits, that's where I drove my cars with up to 200 mph and zero problems.

Marcel Massini

 

Well, I am French, not Swiss like Marcel.
But it is basically the same advice: should you be not absolutely 100% sure to be able to behave and respect the speed limits, then avoid our country completely: the cops are not joking anymore here.

Rgds

 

I read a similar story in the Sunday times a few weeks back.

Which was something about French police checking tunnel/ferry crossing lists looking for anything interesting that they would suspect of speeding away from Calais and lie ahead in waiting under bridges etc.

They are definitely getting more sneaky, or more targeting the motorists likely to speed with powerful cars rather than just sitting waiting for them.

Found a link to article,



http://www.driving.co.uk/news/british-holidaymakers-warned-as-france-cracks-down-on-speeders/

.

 

Nothing new for us in Switzerland, where police officers with their radar guns even sit in trash bins on walkways. Or drive around in unmarked private cars even using license plates from other countries (!), trying to fool the Swiss drivers. It's all about $$$$$, the more, the better. It has zero to do with safety concerns as we are all told. Cities and communities in Switzerland have fixed budget plans for fines. And some police officers even get a percentage of the fines! Talk about incentives. It's a real war and no fun at all.

Marcel Massini

 

Don't know exactly when you plan to pick up your car in September, but in terms of other must do's. You could kick the whole thing off by going to Monza and see the Italian F1 GP on September 7th.

While it's not a Ferrari thing and excuse the P word, the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart could be a fun little extra experience on the way back. It's a nice place with some interesting sportscar history on display.

Cheers.

Oh, just read your specs. Great spec. I personally think Rosso Fuoco and Fiorano are the best red colours for ANY of the newer Ferraris. Good choice. Also, not filling a GT up with carbon really suits the luxury feel of the F12. And thank you for not choosing black or dark grey wheels. I just don't get that. As I said in another thread. What's the point of nice wheels if you can't hardly see them? It's like taking a beautiful girl with perfect legs and ask her to put on black pantyhose and a long dress. It just doesn't fly.
Your spec is one of the best I've seen in a VERY long time. There's some really nice little touches. I especially like the the exterior coloured sill panels, very nice touch. There's only one thing I'd have done differently, which would have been Beige or Nero seat belts. But hey, that's me.

 

I rather suggest a visit to the fabulous Schlumpf Collection, National Auto Museum in Mulhouse (north east corner), France (close to Basel, Switzerland). Apart from approx. 500 other sensational cars they even have a dozen classic Ferraris there. It is absolutely mind-blowing and a must-see!

Marcel Massini

 

I've been there 3 times Marcel. Last time Sept 2013.

Mind blowing - yes - pretty much too much to see and take in! But definitely worth a visit.

The railway museum close by is also and great visit.

 

I drove Monaco, Maranello, Brescia, Germany in May and was let of the 90 Euro fine by the gendarmes .

As well as the Porsche museum there's BMW in Munich and Mercedes in Stuttgart. Also well worth a visit with a few Ferraris is the Sinsheim museum. Its sister museum at Speyer has the space shuttle.

 

Hotel Des Trois Rois in Basel, Switzerland, just 20 min from Schlumpf Coll.
And from there it is just about 10 mins to the next German Autobahn with almost no speed limits (but a few radars!).

Marcel Massini

 

Depending on your route there's Neuschwanstein Castle near Munich. Couple of nice hotels in the village nearby.

 

The rules are the rules... And don't forget you need a road tax sticker for Austria and Switzerland, which must be bought at the border and displayed correctly.

So beware everybody now has speed cameras.
Italy: they resemble dust bins, some painted orange, other less conspicuous, plus fairly frequent road side checks.
Austria: pavement level galvanised boxes... backed up by police speed traps...
Germany: gantry mounted grey boxes over motorways.

And as has been mentioned France and Switzerland also have an enthusiasm for speed enforcement.




MEANWHILE ideas for a route from Marranello to the UK.




San Bernardino [13] - (make sure you use the old road) - sweeping, spectacular and fun.

Splugen Pass (best run north west to south east) - very tight, incredible run through a rock gorge.

double back slightly for Stelvio Pass - spectacular, but rough surfacing and tight in places. Can suffer from traffic, but it is "THE STELVIO" and difficult not to try!

OR Davos - FuelaPass [28] - open, flowing, good fun


Pointless dog leg... just for fun: Kaunertal, Austria [L17]. It is a road to the end of the valley, but a good run, then a little cable car up to a narrow rock edge, the Austria / Italy border at around 12,000ft. I think this one has a toll charge.


If tracking further east
Grossglockner [107] (toll road) - brilliant, open, flowing, high, good scenery



I had been planning a trip through the alps this year and was disappointed by the lack of response, from many hotels, when asked about secure parking: However:

Davos - Hotel Gischa does have under-ground parking (for a fee)

Koblenz (Germany):
1) Hotel Mecure - private parking is available, but not certain that it is secure
Booking.com: Mercure Hotel Koblenz, Koblenz, Germany - 398 Guest reviews. Book your hotel now!
3Abo;sid=76893db194a3dfb82ccaac1623f2a4a4;dcid=4;checkin=2014-09-02;checkout=2014-09-03;ucfs=1;highlighted_facilites=2;srfid=8162bdb7d05a74301f85fd252ea15ed2cd4937d2X3

I've had one or two more responses, but these are presently on my work e-mail account, I'll try to remember to look them up...


I hope this helps.

David
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Hi being keeping an eye on this thread. As am probably doing the same route at the end of August.

David those suggestions sound great - thanks. I will report back.

 

Near there is the White Church (Wieskirche) & the other castle Schloss Linderhof - both worth seeing if in the area (and less queuing than Neuschwanstein) - the area around Fussen is a nice place to visit generally