Ideas for the Alps/Passes

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Not sure if it'll actually come off as a plan, but one of my bucket list items has always been the "European Passes" in the Westfield. Quite fancy doing this next year if I can, but obviously, it'll take a little planning.

I know a few have done similar, so just after some ideas, I'm well aware that doing some roads in a Westfield is very different to doing the same ones in other performance cars, so I'd like to tap in to the experiences of those that have tried them in their Westfields. Which really worked and lived up to expectations and were any not worth the detour.

Time wise, it has to be achievable in a week, so detours in to Eastern Europe as was for the Transfăgărășan Highway in Romania are probably out!

Likewise, passes aside, any particular highlight places for petrolheads to visit on the journey?

[Onliest Smeg David]

One of my 'must do' trips too.

Optimum Passes per day for a week would be Westfields shipped down and drivers fly on cheap flight. Would need at least 8 of us to make this remotely viable though.

[Marcus Barlow - Show and Events Co-ordinator]

or do the autoslappen car train like we did last year - Dusseldorf to Verona , Italy overnight 

[neptune]

I  too have this on my bucket list. My starting point for research was the many high priced packaged tours available. One itinery i found was 1500 miles , 5 days and covered the folliwing passes:

San bernadino pass

Julier pass

St moritz

Umbrail pass

Stelvio pass

Bormio pass

Lake como

Col de turini

Route Napolean

 

 

Closer to home there is plenty of choice in france 

 

La col de la bonnette

Col de vence

Route de thorene

Route napolean

Col de turini

La route des grande alpes

 

And then there's austria ......

 

[kenton]

I do this with SKCC  every year. Used the car transporter train, sent cars ahead on a lorry and flew down. Mostly we drive there via the Black forest, Vosges mountains.

Its a full on driving trip, on the road by 7am , I'm sure I could share the ITN files.

Video of a previous trip.  

 

[Onliest Smeg David]

26 minutes ago, kenton said:

.... sent cars ahead on a lorry and flew down. 

Be interested in more details on this.

Who you used, where flew to, costs etc etc. 

PM me if you wish.

[kenton]

We used this company for the 2013 trip to the Alps.

http://www.transcars.com/

We had the full lorry, 8 cars. They picked them up from a central point (we helped load) and met us at Munich airport, then again a week later at Nice airport for the return. Total cost was £550 per car, we flew Easyjet

(yes that is an FW 400)

Kenton

 

[lesxjr]

Wow Kenton, your MegaBlat 2015 vid is utterly fantastic. Has to be the best '7' driving movie I've seen. The driving and roads and the way it's all been edited together is tremendous. I did a driving trip last October in a tintop over several of the same passes, particularly Stelvio with a bunch of Porsches, so can relate. Thoroughly recommend to anyone planning the same.

  

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Thanks Kenton, some excellent advice and tips.

A very well produced film too, though, if I'm honest I couldn't watch too much, sorry! (Was in a bad crash years ago caused by someone loosing it while drifting the tail out on a Civic Type R and hitting me head on, and just can't watch  that sort of thing anymore  brings back too many bad memories).

[kenton]

11 hours ago, Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Secretary said:

Thanks Kenton, some excellent advice and tips.

A very well produced film too, though, if I'm honest I couldn't watch too much, sorry! (Was in a bad crash years ago caused by someone loosing it while drifting the tail out on a Civic Type R and hitting me head on, and just can't watch  that sort of thing anymore  brings back too many bad memories).

No problem Dave

 We all have in car radios so we communicate about whats on the road to the following cars, "cyclist ahead" etc so we have advance warning of any hazard. We take it in turns being the lead car on "lookout"

Kenton

 

[kenton]

12 hours ago, lesxjr said:

Wow Kenton, your MegaBlat 2015 vid is utterly fantastic. Has to be the best '7' driving movie I've seen. The driving and roads and the way it's all been edited together is tremendous. I did a driving trip last October in a tintop over several of the same passes, particularly Stelvio with a bunch of Porsches, so can relate. Thoroughly recommend to anyone planning the same.

  

Thanks, 

I can't claim to have made it though, thats done by a fellow Westy driver.

 Steve nudge nudge how's this years coming on??

Kenton

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Excellent! I fully admit to liking to get a car a little loose at times myself, if I know all is well clear around me. But I can't even watch the Ken Block stuff for long, it's just seeing them coming towards me with the tail out triggers the old fight or flight response now!

Some fantastic roads there and I love Alpine scenery, plus I'm just not a fan of flat roads!! (I'm not even that keen on flat race tracks  )

[kenton]

I must admit I hate track days, round and around the same corners. Boring. Its just not my thing.

I left home this morning just before 6.30 for a 100 mile drive with a few mates before breakfast! Perfect!

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

27 minutes ago, kenton said:

 

I must admit I hate track days, round and around the same corners. Boring. Its just not my thing.

I left home this morning just before 6.30 for a 100 mile drive with a few mates before breakfast! Perfect!

 

So glad it's not just me on the trackday thing. I don't mind a bit, but after twenty or thirty laps of the same circuit, even a really nice one, with plenty of gradients, and good scenery, I'm sort of done really. Which doesn't make them very good value.

[Geoffrey Carter (Buttercup)]

Nice video with beautiful scenery and I like the music, but after the first couple of minutes I turned it off.

Seeing cars going round corners like that is not my thing.

If I had spent all that money going abroad, I would want to sit, chill, relax and enjoy the scenery.

Twenties plenty for me I'm afraid.