Jalopnik: Germany

Sauerkraut Frozen To Road Shuts Down German Autobahn

Raphael Orlove — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST

Two trucks and an Audi were involved in a crash yesterday evening on the Autobahn near Frankfurt. One of the trucks spilled its load of organic sauerkraut, which froze on contact with the road and blocked traffic for hours. More »

The Nürburgring Closer To Being Saved

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST

It may be the most famous race track in the world to enthusiasts, but Germany's Nürburgring has been in peril for the last two years because of the public track's private management. Since November we've promoted the call to "Save The 'Ring" for another generation of car lovers, and today we've finally got some good news. More »

Ride along on a 200 MPH trip down the Autobahn in a Ferrari 458

Tom Joslin — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 12:30:00 EST

The combination of a fast car and the unlimited speed limits of the German autobahn are surely a slice of gearhead heaven if ever there were one. Luckily for those of us on the wrong continent and lacking the right car for the job someone who didn't face either of these obstacles recorded these two videos of a few high speed runs on the autobahn. More »

Three dead in 52-car pileup on Germany's Autobahn

Raphael Orlove — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:30:00 EST

Three people are dead and thirty five injured in a 52 car crash in foggy weather on Germany's Autobahn. More »

Ferrari F40 crash pictures are painful to look at

Tom Joslin — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 17:00:00 EST

Recently an 80 year old businessman in South Germany lost control of his Ferrari F40 and hit a tree. As you can see, the resulting damage is far from a pretty sight. More »

Man who set fire to 100 cars was just jealous

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:00:00 EDT

It turns out the guy setting fire to hundreds of cars in Berlin wasn't a pyromaniac Guy Fawkes but instead a 27-year-old man bummed about not having a job or nice things. Hey, still sounds like he's part of the "Neun und Neunzig Prozent" though, right? More »

A Mercedes built out of 10,000 pieces of scrap metal

Justin Hyde — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:30:00 EDT

Mercedes-Benz never put the 1954 300 SLR "Uhlenhaut Coupe" into production, and the only two examples ever built are locked in its museum. But a trio of German artists will sell you this: a statue of the 300SLR made from 10,000 pieces of scrap metal. More »

Watch a Cobra do big donuts in a very small room

Justin Hyde — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EDT

When you're in your little room, and you're working on something good — like spinning your AC Cobra around a pillar in a living room — you have to shoot some video. Then you're going to need a bigger room, and maybe a new floor. More »

Audi's two-seat, Messerschmitt-like electric car caught testing in Berlin

Justin Hyde — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:30:00 EDT

Because European automakers see a world where their cars may be regulated to extinction by the European Union, they're trying everything to find suitable alternatives. Audi's next answer: this two-seat Messerschmitt-like revival due for a Frankfurt unveil in September. More »

German crash test is a scary reminder of what happens when cars and trucks collide

Tom Joslin — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EDT

If you needed another reminder why you really don't want to get rear ended by a commercial truck while sitting in your car, here it is. This German crash test is intended to show what happens when a truck plows into cars parked behind another stopped commercial truck. More »

Hitler's secret bunker is under this parking lot

Ray Wert — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:30:00 EDT

Protected by 13 feet of concrete, the Führerbunker was a multi-story underground complex in Berlin that became the central nervous system for the last five months of Hitler's murderous Nazi regime. Now it's a parking lot. And until recently, you'd never even know it was once there. Here's how to find it. More »

Audi R8 shot 37 times by police during wild gunfight

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:30:00 EDT

Police in Germany were called to the scene of a domestic dispute involving an armed man in an Audi R8 who, upon noticing the officer, started opening fire. A pursuit followed and the German police managed to get 37 rounds into the R8 and four into the driver. More »

Hear the 2012 BMW M5 in full wail mode

Justin Hyde — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:30:00 EDT

BMW's shown us the new 2012 M5, and we've even already had some drive time on an icy Swedish lake, but now we can hear the new über-sedan in full twin-turbo wail. More »

How did this car get inside of this van?

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:30:00 EDT

The film Borat allegedly unfairly portrayed Kazakhs as a bunch of trashy Central Asian simpletons. So wrong. This photo proves that Kazakhs are actually trashy Central Asian geniuses. But how — and why — did they do it? Let's find out. More »

Silly German mistakes his Porsche for a U-Boat

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 14:30:00 EDT

I don't care how many advertisements you see bolstering the Porsche Cayenne's off-road abilities — the big VW won't float, as this man in Hamburg learned yesterday during the city's flood event. This rule also applies to Mercedes. Hat tip RentalCarGuy! More »

This is how Europeans become muscle car freaks

Mike Spinelli — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EDT

What sparks a European's love of American (and Australian) muscle cars? In this beautifully-shot profile, Ralf Becker, editor-in-chief of Hamburg-based car-porn purveyor Chromjuwelen.com, cites Hot Wheels cars, Mad Max and punk rock with inspiring his longtime devotion to "chrome jewels." More »

Spinning round the Nürburgring at the annual Carfreitag

Justin Hyde — Wed, 11 May 2011 14:30:00 EDT

In German, the Christian holiday known as Good Friday translates as "karfreitag." Every Good Friday, German auto enthusiasts flock to the Nürburgring for Carfreitag, where vehicles from around the world suffer for the sins of their drivers, with a few saved through grace. More »

20-year-old destroys borrowed $400K Gumpert Apollo

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:30:00 EDT

A young German man wrecked a Gumpert Apollo along a highway near Brokdorf, Germany while maneuvering around a slow corner at high speeds, causing the car to skid into a pasture. The 700-hp supercar was stripped of much of its carbon fiber body, leaving on the passenger compartment intact. More »

German researchers drive car with their minds

Justin Hyde — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST

It's not quite Professor Xavier-level mind control, but researchers at AutoNOMOS Labs in Germany have developed a system that drives a vehicle by reading a person's brain waves. So this is what it feels like to watch the future. More »

Exploring the biggest Japanese sports-car festival in Germany

Justin Hyde — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:15:00 EST

Only old Axis buddies like Germany and Japan could shape this kind of cross-cultural moment; an annual fair for Japanese sports-car fans in Deutschland dubbed "Reisbrennen" — literally, "rice burning." Hot cars transcend any language. More »

Happy Birthday to Me

Tom Joslin — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST

The Mercedes Benz Museum in Germany made this advertisement to celebrate yesterday's 125th anniversary of Karl Benz filing a patent application for his three-wheeled car. The ad features the museum's beautiful Mercedes-Benzs honking a birthday tune. (Hat tip to smokyburnout!) More »

Buy This Citroen CX Built For A Dictator

Mike Spinelli — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST

In 1989, with the Berlin wall being smashed apart by drunk, liberated teenagers, East German strongman Erich Honecker watched as a new stretch Citroen CX limousine slipped from his grasp. Now you can buy the car that was almost his. More »

How The Nürburgring's Owners Sparked The "Save The Ring" Protests

Justin Hyde — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST

Thanks to a financially shaky public-private deal, the Nürburgring complex is under threat from 350 million euros in debt. This German TV report shows how the private managers have responded — by strong-arming business from locals, including Sabine Schmitz. [SaveTheRing.org] More »

The 12-Cylinder Brutus Arrives, Sic Semper Ignit

Justin Hyde — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 09:30:00 EST

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If you had access to a 46-liter airplane engine and a few ancient chassis, wouldn't you at least consider an unholy experiment or two? The doctors Frankenstein at Germany's Sinsheim Technical Museum did just that with Project Brutus. More »

Ferrari 599 GTO Spits Fire and Sounds Wonderful

Tom Joslin — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST

If you need another reason to lust after the Ferrari 599 GTO this video provides several. Add the fact that the 599 GTO spits fire to the already long list of why we want one. (Hat tip to hoonthatsc!) More »

German Porsche GT3 Rally Footage is an Aural Delight

Tom Joslin — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 16:00:00 EST

This 2010 footage of Porsche GT3s rallying through Germany is awesome. The fact the maker of this particular video was wise enough to leave the sound of every snarl, backfire and WOT acceleration for us to enjoy is even better. More »

Karl Lagerfeld Volkswagen Commercial Airs Wednesday

Ray Wert — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:45:00 EST

Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld's Volkswagen commercial where he shoots VW cars and mutters about them under his breath airs this Wednesday in Germany. [Forbes] More »

F1 Driver Heikki Kovalainen Crashes Audi at Race of Champions

Tom Joslin — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 14:00:00 EST

The 2010 Race of Champions is being held this weekend in Dusseldorf, Germany. Watch F1 driver Heikki Kovalainen wipe out in his Audi R8 after a suspension failure during today's first race. (Hat Tip to D-Fence) More »

Naked Guy in Trunk on Google Street View

Tom Joslin — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST

This bizarre image of a naked man getting out of the trunk of his Mercedes was captured in Manheim, Germany by Google Street View. Removed upon it's discovery, the explanation of this picture may forever remain a mystery. More »

Please Stop Giving Germans Rare Cars

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 09:30:00 EST

We're not implying ze Germans are worse drivers than anyone else, just that their access to exotic cars and speed unlimited roads often ends poorly. Someone destroyed one-of-83 Lamborghini Diablo GTs last week, giving us serious sad. (H/T m2m!) [Nordbayern] More »

Watch This Car Ship Burn To A Crisp In Ocean

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:30:00 EDT

This is what's left of the Lisco Gloria, a 650-foot Lithuanian ferry that burned to its shell after an explosion in a cargo truck set the vessel on fire. All aboard survived. The 236 vehicles? Not so much. More »

$2.3M Bugatti Veyron Crashes, Causes $550K In Damage

Matt Hardigree — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 15:30:00 EDT

The owner of this $2.3 million customized Bugatti Veyron attempted a 124 mph pass on the Autobahn Sunday morning, only to collide with another car and a tractor-trailer. Police estimate the damage to the Veyron at $550,000. More »

Porsche Cajun Mini-SUV Rendered By Optimistic Germans

Justin Hyde — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 17:30:00 EDT

Auto Bild fired up ze Foto-Shop to capture what they think the Porsche Cajun SUV will look like when it appears. The junior partner of the Cayenne isn't expected until 2015. [German Car Blog] More »

Porsche Considers Naming Baby Cayenne "Cajun"

Justin Hyde — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:45:00 EDT

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winkelhorn told German paper Der Spiegel that Porsche's long-expected pocket edition of the Cayenne SUV "might be named Cajun," clearly upset that GMC had claimed "Acadia" before Porsche could. [German Car Blog] More »

The V8 Hotel: A Car Nut's Vacation Paradise

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:15:00 EDT

One of the great injustices of growing up? Losing the freedom to sleep in a car bed and maintain respectability. Thankfully, places like Stuttgart, Germany's "V8 Hotel" exist, where anyone can sleep in a properly awesome car bed. More »

This Is What $130,000 In McLaren F1 Crash Damage Looks Like

Sam Smith — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:30:00 EDT

This smurf-blue McLaren F1 plowed into two stopped vehicles on Germany's A48 autobahn on Friday. The accident took out the car's left front corner. Cost if you do this to a Honda Civic? A couple grand. Here? Six figures. More »

BMW M6 Production Ends, Munich's V10 Ends With It

Sam Smith — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:15:00 EDT

Production of BMW's M6 has ended, which means Munich's hot-like-love V10 is officially dead. RIP. More »

Thief Steals Audi From Head Of German Police

Matt Hardigree — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT

As Germany's Interior Minister, Thomas de Maiziere oversees the country's police force. One of his big initiatives? Stopping car theft. The guy who stole de Maiziere's Audi discovered this when Ze Polizei descended on him. Oops. (H/T to servoA4!) [Reuters/Yahoo!] More »

Ex-Audi Employee A Nazi War Criminal

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 10:30:00 EDT

Klaas Faber is an 88-year-old ex-Audi employee who loves driving his VW Golf to the market. According to The Sun, he's also a convicted Nazi war criminal living in Germany free from extradition or prosecution because of Germany's shield laws. More »

BREAKING: Lead Toyota Test Driver Killed In German Crash

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:30:00 EDT

Toyota's top test driver, Hiromu Naruse, died today after crashing a Lexus LFA prototype into a BMW while testing in Germany. The two test drivers in the BMW were also seriously injured. More »