Who has driven on the German Autobahns?
 

I was stationed in West Germany in the eraly 70s for 2 ½ years and had a car for about 1 year of that time.
I occasionally made a nusisience of myself with my low powered worn out, non-aerodynamic 1957 VW bug on the Autobahn to Munich (mostly), Stuttgart (sometimes) and ounce to Frankfurt.
There was a lot of pucker factor as the max speed I could get was 90 Ks and a light weight car gets blown around by those Bavarian winds and passing cars.
Mercedes were scary almost literally blowing you off course when they passed. When I saw those lights flashing I needed to drive to the side of the road to let them pass.
A lot of beautiful scenery.

I drove there in '70 in my 59 beetle and in '73 in my 220b. I wish I could drive there in a good car once.

Tom W

I have never driven in Germany. However, I spent 10 days in Italy visiting family in 2000. We rented a turbo diesel minivan and drove from Milan to Venice to Bologna to Florence to Rome. Then drove from Messina to various parts of Sicily.

I'll just say WOW. I recall seeing 150Km/hr several times on the speedo.
This is a minivan with 6 people and luggage.

Mostly on the stretch between Heidelberg and Frankfurt. The A-5, I believe. Nice scenery.

One day, maybe . . . in a Mercedes Benz, of course.

Yep. I was 19 at the time, driving a rental VW van. I had it floored and was barely doing 180 Km/h or so with everything else blasting past me, and all the while my mother telling me to slow down...:D

Rented an AUDI A4 1.8 TDI with 17" wheels. It would do 122 MPH. I had it there as much as possible. People really know how to drive there. Drive slow in the fast lane and get a ticket and the Polizei drive in everything from VW busses to 911 Targas. Not all sections have unlimited speeds, and on the sections that do, there are suggested speed limits. Typically 140 KMH.

Most any section of German autobahns, plus Strada del Sol countless times. Alpine roads like Grossglockner in Austria, San Bernadino in Switzerland.
Across France, Spain from multiple angles. Portugal, Belgium, Holland. Italian and French Rivera, Cote azur, Costa Brava, Costa del Sol, Algarve. Lisboa, Biarritz. Camarque, Rhone Delta. Vienna, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich. Geislinger Steige bei Stuttgart (2. & 3. gear, Porsche 3.3 turbo, didn't get a chance to shift into 4.)

Ha, not to forget: The transit passing through East Germany, the most miserable torture, one could have ever encountered. 100 km/h speed limit.

London (urgh), Copenhagen.

215km/h tops. 160-200km/h cruising speed.
Munich-Hamburg in 8.5 hours, which included a restaurant stop.
Munich-Rome 9 hours, only fill and toll booth stops and ofcourse trhe Zoll/Duane.

Some may wonder, it took me roughly 20 years, and calculative almost 4x around the globe. (The globe has a circumvention of 43,000 km)

I also crossed the US 3x. Malibu-Miami Beach-Malibu. Once via Albuquerque and the Grand Canyon. Twice on Route 10.

An S class in its natural environment!:D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFQPnMRRelQ

I'd love to drive on the Autobahn one day, I'd be able to go 150mph and not get arrested or have to worry about idiots!

That would be nice.

Tom W

If you go, make sure you get a nice fast car. My Audi 4000 was mediocre on the Autobahn. Too fast for the slow lane, and too slow for the fast lane.

I have driven on Autobahn extensively, my brother's Supra Turbo, his G Wagen and his Honda Fireblade, best experience of my life.

Used to rent a car in Germany (they had the cheapest rates) and drove to East Europe every year. Now I have had enough of the driving, not to mention that the rental car topped out at 160km/h.
Don't believe those fools who claim that "everything passed them by at 180", bullcrap. Gas is very expensive in Europe, there are a lots frugal people there too with small cars/engines.
Lane discipline is awesome, but some of the bastards have no patience, especially young punks in 6cyl VWs. I had been "pushed" a few times because the idiot thought that it took me too long to pass the 18 wheeler (rental cars are rarely speed demons).
Of course as soon as I reached the semi's cab I matched its speed.
This happened mostly in East Europe and Austria though, not in Germany.

Alex

There's too many traps. Not only the car needs to be superior, but also your driving skills and capabilities.
Myself, I don't do this kind of driving anymore. I have friends drive me when I am there. I also love to ride the train. Fast, convenient and comfortable. Besides, there is always a pretty lady somewhere in the train to flirt with.

There was a friend of a friend, I only knew him remotely. He was said to have been in a rush, from Munich to Lugano, Switzerland. Staying casually below speed limit it's about 4 to 5 hours drive from the time of entry into 'Die Schweiz'.
That guy was on the road with one of those DeTomaso Pantheras. There is not much traffic on Switzerlands Autobahnen, so it's easy to loose touch on the speed limit.
Anyways, as the story goes, after about an hour driving at top speed he had a helicopter following him.
It was funny, because this guy was one of those 'High Rollers', who didn't give much of a damn and thought this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to try and outrace a helicopter.

However, long story short, he didn't get very far, as he was stopped, arrested and held until he paid the fine, which was about less then a day later.

I should mention, this is a very popular route from Southern Germany to Monte Carlo (Casinos :cool:).
Munich - St Gallen -Luzern - Lugano - Milano - Torino, from there down to the Italian Riviera ... too many memories :)

I got very tired of those sweat stains in my shirts, resulting from wet underarms :o... @ 200km/h.