A Trip Out to Germany

Looking forward to seeing the next update

I really need to plan a Germany trip. There was recent talk about the Greens pushing to abolish the de-restricted sections of the autobahns. Luckily the vote at Germany’s parliament ended up as 498 against a mandatory limit, with just 126 voting for the proposed 130 km/h limit.

Well, I'll give some views on that, but not until later .

So, where was this mystical place? It was actually not that mystical at all! Still cool mind you, It was the Porsche Museum!

As soon as I parked the car up and walked towards the reception I knew I was in the right place, in my element. Just look at the beauties!








But I couldn't just stay around and admire the cars behind a glass wall, I had to get out and explore the museum!

"Electric cars are evil", "Our forefathers wouldn't have had electric cars", "Electric Cars are too new!" Well I'll let you into a secret. Porsche were doing all this at the start of the 20th Century . The car they used as their template? The Lohner-Porsche. Below is a cuttaway of the motor within the wheel! This is technology that has been around for over a 100 years? A Prius is new? Is it 'eck?







The car that almost looks like a spaceship!



What a lineage. What a legacy!



The purity of design impresses most!











It was great to see how Porsche managed to eeek out every advantage. Take the fuel system. For this particular car, they ran no fuel pump, and even used part of the spaceframe as fuel lines from the fuel tank! The tank, made of Titanium, was then pressurised to allow the fuel injection system to work, allowing the car to race. What a mad way to get every bit of weight out of a car. What Genius!



"Porsche 718s are a terrible car with that flat 4 engine!", people will say. Not this one!



This however, was the part I loved the most. Seeing the 917s! With such a reputation, and such a history about them, there is no denying these are truly superb things!





Yup, this place offers the lot:



It's probably the coolest place a boiler logo has sat :



For the purists, some things would have been upsetting. For others, they'd be wondering why didn't Porsche put these touches onto production cars?





A V8 powered 914, that was once used daily? I'll take 3!



For people wondering what the concept Boxster looked like, this gives a taster:



You were even given the chance to sit in some of the flagship stuff being sold told. Going by the state of this seat, and how awkward it was to get inside, this car had seen a fair few bums!

So, the Porsche museum. A great place worth a visit indeed!

But, I wasn't going to come all the way over to Stuttgart to see one museum was I? Nope, not at all .

When this was parked next to my car the next morning in Stuttgart, It was almost as if the place had read my mind! There was however a little surprise left for me on the M3, which I'll divulge next time.

Believe it or not, Munich was on my agenda!

However, a few things would stop that, including:

• It being a 5 hour drive away from the Nurburgring
• Me only being over for a week. I wanted something to do over the holiday but not too much ; I was lazy!
• Munich is a reasonable place to travel to another time, either via car or via the plane .

But, Stuttgart does have its share of museums. It needs to to be frank. Not just from the perspective of the very industrial feel of the town but also this:



For those wondering, that is a warning saying that I failed to display an emissions sticker. I knew that France had these but not Germany. Upon using Google Translate, naturally, I began fretting! But, what's done has been done. Maybe I'll get my 80 Euro fine. Maybe I'll pay it if I have to drive to a clean zone again!

I won't dwell on this too much, but it probably should be covered on RR for people who want to do a road trip. So. I'll keep it very brief here. In short, if you plan to go down in a diesel "modern", there is a very good chance you'll risk being hit with an 80 Euro fine in Stuttgart. How does it work? If your diesel is Euro 4 or lower, it won't be allowed in. If your petrol car is pre-Euro emissions (think roughly 1993), you can't drive your car in. Oldtimers, where the rules seem to be ambiguous are allowed in, like the Mercedes above, with H for Historic at the end of the plate .

What did this mean? With all of my cars I would have been fine to get into the City, if I bought the badge from a TUV, DEKRA or similar centre. You can get them online too. You've been warned folks! If I had travelled in my dad's 2006 BMW 535d or a friend's 2010 Focus TDCI Estate, I'd have had to have caught public transport to the hotel, as neither would have been allowed into the city. How much longer will the M3 have before it is barred? Who knows!

But, with the emissions sticker issue, or lack of sticker problem investigated, I went on to admire the musuem

Firstly, it's not quite as impressive as the Porsche museum to look at outside, but it is more expansive . They do also seem to circle around what cars are displayed outside from other posts I have seen. This time, it was Galander Wagon season. They were everywhere outside the place!



Who says modernism can't be combined with retroness?




Man, I adore a C111!





The museum put alot of effort into the origins of Mercedes and its foret





Yup, it seems Mercedes dabbled in aircraft amongst other things!





There are more shots to come, but i shall send them later .

Nice trip.

I like Belgium generally. It's a nice place. Bruges is chilled.

Stuttgart? Don't talk to me about Stuttgart. Ever!

Many years ago, visited their metro operator, so we could have a play on their driver simulator (built by Dornier).

Rocked up having flown from Manchester to Heathrow and served breakfast.

Heathrow to Stuttgart, served breakfast No.2.

Picked up in a huge Merc and driven to the metro depot.

Whisked straight to their boardroom where we were fed a three course lunch of Germanic proportions.

Slept through the afternoon's presentation.

Woke up just in time for an after work beer, with a "light" snack. Pork chops, wurst, sauerkraut and black bread, if I remember.

I'm thinking, "Thank God. I can go back to the hotel after this, lie down and sleep it all off before tomorrow's simulator playing.

"We will drop you back at your hotel now, then pick you up again at nine for dinner."

Did he just say that?

Wound up at a beautiful restaurant in the basement of a very old building.

May I recommend the Swabian noodles? They are superb. Unfortunately, they come in a washing up bowl and that, coupled with a few steins of beer, just about killed me for the day.

Museums? Who knew! Actually Stuttgart has a pig museum. I say no more.

It's not all industrial, although we were chaperoned by locals, there's some lovely bits and the food is top, but you gotta ask for small portions!

People very friendly as well. Always nice.

Anyway, the next day was amateur hour. Massive breakfast in the hotel, three course lunch in the boardroom again, off to the airport for the flight to Brussels where, fortunately, we had a little more control over our daily calorie intake.

16oz sirloin, frites, eggs and litre of Stella, anyone?

Only three meals.

Sorry ChasR , got carried away.

And I'd've take the Merc.

Great trip and report so far.

Thank you for taking the time to post

Sorry for the emission sticker issues. I didn't know they are actually ripping off tourists from abroad with that curse word.

Oh, and the green stickers are cheapest from the Berlin government website! like 6 euro delivered, IIRC.

I know what a few of you are thinking? Why on earth would a stripped out MX-5 interest me over the cars I have? The M3 grips better and is faster with both it and the Merc arguably having more class.

The truth is I have a bit of a soft spot for an MX-5. Some may claim they are boring with their superb reliability, but I would disagree. It's great to have a car that is generally reliable. Anything tends to have the odd issue go wrong once its out of the warranty people. If you enjoy driving, they're a great hoot and they have so much potential, going from the 'Teenage Dirtbag' of Mystery Machine to the fast road orientated car like my old MX-5 was.



It's also great to try what is in theory a similar car out. On paper, both my friend's Eunos and my MX-5 are similar beasts, but this one had a few more change? What was the shopping list I hear you ask? Well, it was the following:

-Stripped out interior down to even the windows going!
-Sparco Bucket seats with 4 point harnesses
-Bilstein Coilovers all round, which appear to be B8 based
-15" NB wheels shod on Toyo CF-II wheels
-1.8 Brakes with Hawk Fast road pads
-Rebushed with SuperPro bushes I believe
-Manual Steering rack conversion, using a PAS rack.

Yes, mine had a few more tricky bits. With nothing more to add, it was time to drive this thing.

The first thing that became apparent was this car was much quieter than my old '5! I actually preferred that! Mine was awesome, make no mistake with the twin setup, but it was a bit too much for a daily! I'm surprised no neighbours of mine complained TBH as it really was that load! This car sounded more pure, and with a nice zing to the exhaust note

While it had some of the inherent scuttle shake just like mine did, the comfort of the suspension was similar to mine and possibly an improvement, which is a big surprise given that this example was on 15" wheels. The grip levels were similar to mine on the 14" Goodyear EfficientGrip Performances, but a little more pliant, which translated into a nicer road experience.

The biggest difference however was the manual 'rack conversion. The manual racks seem to have a varied reputation in the MX-5 circles with some claiming they give a more pure experience, while others say they are too slow to be of any real benefit over a PAS car. This one was heavier at slower speed. But as soon as you were over 20mph, it didn't matter. The rack conversion gave the car more steering feel and was a nicer weight at lower speed. This really made the car lovely to drive.

I suddenly wanted one all over again! It was just such a featherweight flyer, abeit no quicker than my old car. It was different to the M3! I had thoughts of buying one once I got back to the UK, until sense kicked in. I knew I only liked this one as it was clearly a very well sorted example. It has however given me the motivation to get my M3 fixed over this winter and to not hopefully get another car. Yes, they are famous last words....

The MX-5 was no fun however when I got caught in a shower however, I went from enjoying the car to feeling like a small boy who had wet himself! You can't have it all eh? It was good however to be at ease with the world.

With this, it was time to go into Adenau, which of course is the place where the half-way entrance of the Nurburgring is, as well as the CROWN pub itself! With me staying this time in a room at Room4Ring, mainly as it was cheaper than getting a taxi back to the house and then needing one back again in the morning. It was good to catchup with Chris Rodger, the owner of the CROWN, in addition to seeing a few locals, in addition to a couple of key folks in the modification scene. Yes, there were a couple of bulshy 'Ring heroes there, but that's part and parcel of any place really.



But enough of this. A day later, I would be back at a place where many Europeans flock to on a daily basis. Of course, I am talking about the Nurburgring. However, it would seem that a certain element would be present with me and the M3, just like it was when I did the Destination Nurburgring trip a few years ago with RetroWarwicK? I am of course talking about the rain. Would it write off the day, or would I be stupid enough to do a few laps on the well renowned and dangerous Touristfathten (Public Day for others here)?



Since I was there, I figured I may as well have a breakfast at Devil's Diner to contemplate whether I'd go out or not. There, I'd see some known faces like Misha Chaudrin of Apex Taxi and Dale Lomas who now does the Jaguar Taxi, with both a Project 8 and an i-Pace, and yes, that last car wasn't a typo! But would I venture out onto the track like they would?

Well, we'll now find out if I was sensible or a fool!

Driving the Nurburgring in the wet isn't the smartest thing to do. Take the dry line and you can very easily bin the car in the barrier, even at low speeds, as a result of rubber being depleted on the surface, cause an 'oil like' surface.

What's more, the last time I took my M3 there, it rained as well! Is the M3 not destined to do a dry day at the 'ring?



What's more, I did the last trackdays with DN, a place where you get briefings, stricter policies on people being idiots, and more crucially, potentially a cheaper crash should the worst happen. So, would I go ahead and venture onto a TouristFahten lap, despite the obvious risks, as declared in this Drivetribe article?.

Well, only a fool or an Englishman who do that. Some would say I qualify for both, so yes, I did. What the hell, I figured? How bad can it be?

Truthfully? Not great:



It was apparently a little foggy when I went down, so the track was closed, albeit the staff stated they were monitoring the situation.I mystelf couldn't see the fog from the Dottinger straight in the car park, but I could believe it ; the Nurburgring has some pretty serious elavations present on it, which in the summer can really test a cooling system. In the case of wet weather, that can make things a little foggy!

While I was waiting in the car park, I saw a few interesting cars; some which you expect to see, and others which you don't. One being a regular at the 'ring. An E46 M3 pickup truck. Like it or lump it, it's a different car for sure!





As you can tell, there were a few BMWs in the car park, and one of them was this. A curious looking BMW E30 318iS, which I'll come back to later.



What's more, there is a new Nurburgring Taxi in town. This time, a fully Electric Jaguar i-Pace! It's something I'm eager to give a go. At 150 Euros a lap with 2 of your mates to come along while being driven by seasoned regular, Dale Lomas, it's certainly something worth trying I suspect if a few of you go along. Regarding Dale's driving, it's not what you'd call slow, as this video shows from when he took me and a couple of mates out in a BMW F80 M3:



Obviously, if you want the noise and thrills then they do have the XE based Project 8 to try.

But, all this mincing around wasn't going to last long. Eventually, the siren was cast on the Tannoy to confirm that the track was now open. Gone was the red "Track Closed" sign, and in came the Green "open" sign. There was only one thing left to do. Try the track!

I'll not lie! I was a bit of a wimp! As a wise man once said "You shouldn't drive or a laptime on the 'ring in the wet. The main aim is to get around in one piece". And so I gently and gingerly went around, taking a 'wet' line for most of it. With the second lap, I had a little more of a feel for the circuit and so I pushed a little more. Yes, the DSC light did come on occasionally but generally it was fine. However, I noticed something. The 'ring was quiet! If you go back to that Pickup photo, you'll notice just how empty the car park was! Oh, no, it's that bad! Or is it?

There is another way to look at the 'ring. It's quieter by 80% in comparison to a dry day, alot of the track time setters with zero consideration for other users (read idiots) are gone, and the quality of driving seems to improve. I know Darren Langeveld of DN said on the wet day I did two years ago that almost no one crashed that day at the 'ring, but it was quiet. It seems that was present here too, despite a lack of briefings etc. The other thing? Quick lap times and safe driving on all tracks come with track knowledge, with the Nurburgring demonstrating this very well! This wasn't a curse word load of laps, it was a great set of learning laps! With that in mind, I settle down, enjoying hearing that S54 engine howl and growl its way through the Eiffel, and made the most of the situation.

It would then come to the final lap. Here, I had a bit more of a feel for the car and went a little quicker now I was a little familiar, and still very much a 'ring Virgin (don't snigger you lot!) in terms of lap experience. I for once was actually overtaking other cars, with permission of course, and was really enjoying the circuit! Eventually, I caught up with this chap:



Yup, this is the same 318iS I talked about before. I could have overtaken him on the straights, but in the corners he had such a way about him! Yes, he was drifting in a few of the corners, but the car had such grace, such smoothness and control, and so I followed him and made it my aim to do that around the track. It actually made for a really enjoyable experience! Yes, I could have gone faster, but like my time at Spa, it's these moments which make trackdays a bit of fun! Despite the conditions, it was a very enjoyable lap:



As you can tell in previous photos, we caught up in the car park. At that point we chatted for a bit with as one motoring presenter put it, a mutual admiration. Him admiring my car and the engine within it; E46 M3s aren't quite as cheap as they are over here, due to their perception of old car value. Simultaneusly, I was admiring the skill of the car being driven as well as his 318iS, a car I have wanted for quite some time, before they started climbing in price!

The car itself was a stripped out beast with a beefier uprated shifter fitted, a set of bucket seats and a rollcage. Oh, and some Toyo R888Rs as the photo above shows. We discussed the wet 'ring driving benefits as I discussed above, with him citing the lower numbers; I didn't realise how much lower they were! Eventually, he offered to take me out for a lap. Would I really go for a passenger lap with a bloke who was drifting around the circuit and on dry biased tyres? Sure, what's the worst that can happen?

Well, quite alot! Going in his 318iS with that M44 really made me wonder why I never bought one. Sure, it didn't have the pace of the bigger 6 pots but it seemed reasonable enough. The engine, whilst being a 4 banger, sounded great, and the car had a surprising amount of control! This driver was very smooth behind the wheel. He showed me where the dry line bad spots were around the circuit and where the dry line could be taken in the wet, due to resurfacing taking place. Even the change of tarmac was demonstrated! From braking straight and true the car about 2 seconds late snapped into what seemed like a spin, only for him to straighten the car out. No drama, no hassle. With him talking through the throttle inputs, with it sometimes being as low as 10% to get a drift on some iffy corners, it was like watching a Nurburgring Masterclass in action.

At the end, we parted as friends I and I went back to my friend's house. After all, as a Star Trek Episode once said, All Good Things must end. Or something like that. I had a train to catch!

For what was a week of a holiday, it certainly seemed great! It was around the first time in quite some time I managed to 'switch' off and see some great things, albeit bland to some people. Will I go back? You bet!

There was only one more thing left to do. Get back home. But not without supplies. And weather. But more on that later.