I'm just back from a weeks road trip in the Z4M where we found some epic roads in the South of France, and up into the Alps. I was joined by friends in a 991 GT3, 996 Turbo and a DB9 GT (all 6 litres of it!).
My Z4m had effectively been off the road for 2 years after it came back from the last trip where the starter motor failed in Turin. That repair turned into fitting a Karbonius airbox, remap, and a full overhaul of the brakes, including stripping the calipers, installing new seals, braided hoses, new handbrake shoes etc. I only got the car rolling again with a week to go before departure, so I was putting a lot of trust in my work, having done all this myself without much chance to do a full shakedown run.
The route started as you'd expect at Calais, headed south through France via the Reims circuit, with the first over night pre booked stop in Troyes which is a lovely French town, where we enjoyed Steak Frites and red wine.
The next day we continued south, but with no accommodation booked, we were more flexible. In the end we settled on Morzine where we found a great hotel, and restaurant for a traditional Raclette supper, washed down with crisp lager and more wine.
The weather was bad the next day, with poor visibility due to rain, so again with no accommodation booked for that night we took the decision to head south until we found better weather, with the aim of picking up the Route Napoleon on the way. Leaving Morzine we drove over what are in effect the ski slopes in the winter. The route took us close to Grenoble, Gap, eventually stopping in Aix en Provence, where the weather was warm. More steak frites in a fantastic restaurant in a square that can best be described as looking like the set of Allo Allo!
The next night was a pre booked night in Turin, so we retraced some of our steps from the day before, heading north, before heading east to Italy via some Alpine passes. The Col de Vars on the D902 is worth hunting out if you are in the area.
Dinner in Turin was in the Piazza Vittoria Veneto which is by the river, and if you look over the bridge, you can see the weir the mini's in the Italian Job film drove over.
The next day was a route to Klosters in Switzerland where we had a pre booking. This route takes you past Como and the lakes, into Switzerland via the Saint Bernadino pass.
GT3Chasing -https://gopro.com/v/8GKnplb78Bezn
The next morning we woke to reports of the first snow of the season in nearby Davos, so that ended any idea of more alpine passes, especially as the GT3 was on Cup tyres, so we decided to head north to Germany, via the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, ending in Cologne for beers and more steak probably! That was a big day of driving, but the better road surfaces and lane discipline of other drivers makes the driving easier, quicker also as it included some stretches of derestricted Autobahn!
We were now on the homeward stretch now, so wanted to be within striking distance of Calais for the morning departure, so we picked Antwerp as the stop over, via Classic Remise in Dusseldorf for lunch. We found a great hotel in Antwerp with an underground carpark and enjoyed some locally brewed Stella Artois (5.2% not the 4.6% rubbish in the UK) that night.
The next morning after breakfast we headed to the Chunnel, managing to get an earlier crossing at about 10:30.
All in it was about 2,500 miles. I didn't keep full fuel records, I just know it was £630 of petrol - one tank being lovely 102 Octane!
I love these trips for the driving, scenery, food and wine. I'd recommend it to anyone. Came back relatively unscathed this time, just a cracked windscreen, and possibly a TPS which needs changing - should have done it when the airbox was off.
You can see the general route here
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/5...try=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDkxOC4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw==
My Z4m had effectively been off the road for 2 years after it came back from the last trip where the starter motor failed in Turin. That repair turned into fitting a Karbonius airbox, remap, and a full overhaul of the brakes, including stripping the calipers, installing new seals, braided hoses, new handbrake shoes etc. I only got the car rolling again with a week to go before departure, so I was putting a lot of trust in my work, having done all this myself without much chance to do a full shakedown run.
The route started as you'd expect at Calais, headed south through France via the Reims circuit, with the first over night pre booked stop in Troyes which is a lovely French town, where we enjoyed Steak Frites and red wine.
The next day we continued south, but with no accommodation booked, we were more flexible. In the end we settled on Morzine where we found a great hotel, and restaurant for a traditional Raclette supper, washed down with crisp lager and more wine.
The weather was bad the next day, with poor visibility due to rain, so again with no accommodation booked for that night we took the decision to head south until we found better weather, with the aim of picking up the Route Napoleon on the way. Leaving Morzine we drove over what are in effect the ski slopes in the winter. The route took us close to Grenoble, Gap, eventually stopping in Aix en Provence, where the weather was warm. More steak frites in a fantastic restaurant in a square that can best be described as looking like the set of Allo Allo!
The next night was a pre booked night in Turin, so we retraced some of our steps from the day before, heading north, before heading east to Italy via some Alpine passes. The Col de Vars on the D902 is worth hunting out if you are in the area.
Dinner in Turin was in the Piazza Vittoria Veneto which is by the river, and if you look over the bridge, you can see the weir the mini's in the Italian Job film drove over.
The next day was a route to Klosters in Switzerland where we had a pre booking. This route takes you past Como and the lakes, into Switzerland via the Saint Bernadino pass.
GT3Chasing -https://gopro.com/v/8GKnplb78Bezn
The next morning we woke to reports of the first snow of the season in nearby Davos, so that ended any idea of more alpine passes, especially as the GT3 was on Cup tyres, so we decided to head north to Germany, via the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, ending in Cologne for beers and more steak probably! That was a big day of driving, but the better road surfaces and lane discipline of other drivers makes the driving easier, quicker also as it included some stretches of derestricted Autobahn!
We were now on the homeward stretch now, so wanted to be within striking distance of Calais for the morning departure, so we picked Antwerp as the stop over, via Classic Remise in Dusseldorf for lunch. We found a great hotel in Antwerp with an underground carpark and enjoyed some locally brewed Stella Artois (5.2% not the 4.6% rubbish in the UK) that night.
The next morning after breakfast we headed to the Chunnel, managing to get an earlier crossing at about 10:30.
All in it was about 2,500 miles. I didn't keep full fuel records, I just know it was £630 of petrol - one tank being lovely 102 Octane!
I love these trips for the driving, scenery, food and wine. I'd recommend it to anyone. Came back relatively unscathed this time, just a cracked windscreen, and possibly a TPS which needs changing - should have done it when the airbox was off.
You can see the general route here
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/5...try=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDkxOC4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw==
