There are so many fantastic driving roads out there in the world, and plenty of incredible cars to use in finding joy while driving them. Earlier this week we put forth a dream scenario in which you could teleport to anywhere in the world with your own car for a delightful 24 hour period of driving, and asked your opinions for where you would go, what car you would take, and why. The answers were as varied as the people who regularly read Jalopnik, and we had a lot of fun sifting through our favorites. Check them out below, and sound off in the comments with any you think should have been included.
One that I saw a lot was the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It’s important to remember that the ‘Ring is a toll road and a full day of driving there would get quite pricey very quickly. It’s about $37 per lap of the track, which is admittedly about 15-20 minutes of fun depending on how fast your car is. The track is typically open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends for tourist laps, so you’d be spending about $111 per hour for 11 hours, which means a day at the ‘Ring is going to run about $1,200. Worth it? Maybe. Just worth keeping in mind.
Very Specific
Riiiight here: 50.36167901816127, 6.7991440247770605
I used to live/work in Germany and regularly drove between my companies HQ near Wuppertal to a plant near Trier/Saarburg. GPS would send you on an exclusively restricted (aka boring) Autobahn route but my in-the-know colleagues recommended a more scenic route. It included 50+km of unrestricted loud pedal mashing on the A1 interrupted by a wonderfully scenic jaunt through the countryside. This side quest always included a stop at a mom-n-pop bakery for a whole-ass Schnitzel breakfast sandwich with a delectable Milchkaffe and crescendoed into wringing the absolute dogpiss out of whatever rental car I had on the above-referenced perfect stretch of up-hill winding switchbacks and hairpins. Most of these trips were completed in FWD hatches from the local Europcar office, but one day I got to complete that journey solo in a minty fresh MX5 when I was “forced” to use Sixt. It was absolute heaven kicking the ass-end of that little thing out on every turn while basking in the morning sun, a perfect mid-point to that journey which would otherwise be no different than a trip up I-75 from Cincinnati to Detroit. Which is the current bane of my work travels.
I recently had to sell my RHD E30 due to a pesky divorce. But I’ve recently acquired a gently used Z3 M Roadster and it would be amazing to drive that route again in that lively little number. The only thing that would make it better is a model year shift into an S54 rig, but the S52 is plenty for me right now. That and maybe a more secure cup-holder for the aforementioned coffee treat.
Hell Is Other Drivers
Honestly, I’d rather teleport everyone else’s car somewhere else so I can enjoy some of my own local roads.
Italy Rules
I would take my former 2008 Subaru Legacy Spec.B to the Trentino-Alto section of the Italian Dolomites. Among the glamor and crowds of the Italian lakes, lies a smaller lake called Idro at the foot of the Dolomites. Aside from having lots of breathtaking natural beauty, easy access to the Dolomites, smaller crowds, tons of great towns with local specialties, and every outdoor activity under the sun, it also has amazing windy roads connecting the towns. While the towns have low speed limits and plenty of speed cameras, in between it increases to 90 kph which is more than enough to have fun. The roads have tons of elevation change and are incredibly technically challenging. There is a reason it is frequented by groups of Motorcyclists and car enthusiasts from Italy and surrounding countries.
I spent the last two weeks of my summer at Lake Idro and while my Alfa Tonale rental was not bad around the turns, a great sports sedan is my ideal choice. I currently have an E39 M5 which is great, but it is too large to navigate the narrow town streets and is way too heavy to handle tight corners. My old modified 2008 Spec.B would have been more ideal for the job at hand but unfortunately I sold it 11 years ago.
Take Me To The Mountains
Inside the Lower 48? Montana in the Summer.
Outside of the US? Austria and Switzerland in the Summer.
I LOVE mountain drives. The Alps in the summer is particularly wonderful. If the day is too warm, drive up a mountain and cool off. If the day is pleasant, drive to the bottom and enjoy the view. Oh, and the chocolate is great too.
I wouldn’t want to live in either area in the winter, but in the Summer or Spring, Mountain drives are the best.
The Three Colored Ice Cream?
Always heard the Route Napoleon (from the southern coast of France up to the north) was one of the best drives in Europe.
Gotta Go Fast!
The Autobahn. I want to know what it feels like to have competent left lane drivers who move over for faster traffic.
The Most Beautiful Road In The World?
The Icefields Parkway.
I’m sure there are other amazing mountain roads out there that are this good, but I haven’t been on them to know yet. Of the half-dozen or so “famous drives of the world” I’ve completed, the Icefields Parkway is still my favourite.
It’s 268km of road that bends and twists through the Rockies between Jasper and Banff. This isn’t a mountain road with millions of tight twisty turns, it’s mostly a lot of sweepers, but still an engaging drive. Then there’s the sights. I’ve driven it a handful of times, and the sense of awe and wonder has never gone away.
You can drive the entire thing in a day easily, so I’ll teleport myself and my Miata there…just not until late spring.
STELVIO!
Teleport me and my Abarth 124 Spider to Stelivo Pass, and teleport all the other traffic away please...
Time Travel Wasn’t Part Of The Deal!
You didn’t say “WHEN”, so I’m taking my Ford Fiesta ST to Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas on November 19th, 1954.
We’re going to bring the “Party” to the Carrera Panamericana!
Also, going to warn Carroll Shelby about the section of the race, where he biffed it, broke his arm, and got stuck as a hostage in Mexico for a bit.
He couldn’t leave the country without the car he came with. However, after the wreck, his Austin-Healey 100S was totaled.And, unfortunately, locals stole all four wheels from the wreckage! The authorities told him “If it came in with 4 wheels, it must leave with 4 wheels.”
After a few days, some friends came to the rescue, with 4 wheels that they “luckily found near the crash site in a ravine.”The Mexican Authorities didn’t really buy it, but were satisfied enough to let him finally go back to Texas for proper treatment of his arm.
Man, It’s A Hot One
Center of the goddamned sun.