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Malsua

Fun on the autobahn

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Good times.

I used to work with a lab in Germany, and they'd send a driver to Frankfurt to pick us up whenever the American contingent came over. The driver was sure to always hit 200 kph on the way back, if only to freak out the first-timers.

The hardest thing to get used to, I found, was the potential speed differential between vehicles.  In the US, the difference between your speed, and what you might consider the reckless idiots on one side of the spectrum, and the impossibly slow drivers on the other, might only be +/- 15 MPH.  On the autobahn, that difference can be enormous.

Prepare to pass, check your mirrors six times to make sure the road behind you is clear all the way to the horizon, tromp on the gas and whip into the passing lane, and in a heartbeat, some Porsche is on your back bumper flashing it's lights.

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1 hour ago, Pizza Bob said:

Heck, I did that on Rt 31 while messing with a ZL1 Camaro

Can you specify what date and time this was?  And of course the VIN number of that ZL1. =P

@Malsua very cool to be able to do that without being concerned about $$$$$$$.

Very cool, especially in a Ford Focus ST.

Fastest for me, outside of track, was a Vette C6 somewhere on Florida pike between West Palm Beach and Orlando.... 120 or so.

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1 hour ago, Maksim said:

Can you specify what date and time this was?  And of course the VIN number of that ZL1. =P

@Malsua very cool to be able to do that without being concerned about $$$$$$$.

Very cool, especially in a Ford Focus ST.

Fastest for me, outside of track, was a Vette C6 somewhere on Florida pike between West Palm Beach and Orlando.... 120 or so.

please. > 130 climbing the hill on westbound 78 where it meets 24, or eastbound 78 after the 287 junction.

I do try and not post speeds > 2x the posted limit though. :D

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12 hours ago, Maksim said:

Can you specify what date and time this was?  And of course the VIN number of that ZL1. =P

@Malsua very cool to be able to do that without being concerned about $$$$$$$.

Very cool, especially in a Ford Focus ST.

Fastest for me, outside of track, was a Vette C6 somewhere on Florida pike between West Palm Beach and Orlando.... 120 or so.

 

The coolest Thing is doing it for 10 minutes at a time.  There was some construction and congestion on my route so Unlimited was limited, but still fun

14 hours ago, PK90 said:

It appears that the driver was recording it. :facepalm:

both Hands on the Wheel, was Pressing the phone to the Wheel with my thumb, so it was moving a bit.  

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16 hours ago, 10X said:

Good times.

I used to work with a lab in Germany, and they'd send a driver to Frankfurt to pick us up whenever the American contingent came over. The driver was sure to always hit 200 kph on the way back, if only to freak out the first-timers.

The hardest thing to get used to, I found, was the potential speed differential between vehicles.  In the US, the difference between your speed, and what you might consider the reckless idiots on one side of the spectrum, and the impossibly slow drivers on the other, might only be +/- 15 MPH.  On the autobahn, that difference can be enormous.

Prepare to pass, check your mirrors six times to make sure the road behind you is clear all the way to the horizon, tromp on the gas and whip into the passing lane, and in a heartbeat, some Porsche is on your back bumper flashing it's lights.

We usually get a Driver but the boss told me I could get a car, so i did.  Second time driving in Germany, the last time was in a mini cooper club man that petered out at 180kph.   This one had plenty more but i was running out of rpm.  it also has a throaty Growl when you stand on it.  it is a fun Little car, i wouldnät mind owning one back home.

forgive the weird spelling and capitaliyation.   German kezboard, everzthing is different and annozing.

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11 hours ago, sota said:

please. > 130 climbing the hill on westbound 78 where it meets 24, or eastbound 78 after the 287 junction.

I do try and not post speeds > 2x the posted limit though. :D

My Acura hits the Speed limiter at 133.  V6 Version.  Gets there faster than this one, and right about 3k rpm, it does have 9 gears.   The difference is getting up there and hanging in the left lane without worrying About losing your car and License for a Long time.   My old race car would hit 124.5 in 1320 feet and that felt like it you were Right on the Edge of dying. heh.  This was just a fun sprinty Little car.    

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16 hours ago, Pizza Bob said:

Heck, I did that on Rt 31 while messing with a ZL1 Camaro

I assume, then, they got rid of those ALPR cameras (mounted on Stands) on Rt. 31 just above 518 in East Amwell, right? :D

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I drove an Autobahn in 1984, with a small Audi automatic. I was able to do 110mph (didn't want the engine to overheat by going higher) in some places on that Autobahn.... People were passing me... :rolleyes::facepalm:

The problem with Autobahns is that you still have big a$$ lumbering trucks that can't drive that fas,t, and for which you have to zip around. The other problem is that all the other motor vehicle and traffic laws are strictly enforced (i.e. weaving in and out of traffic, etc.). Fines and sanctions for those violations are hefty.

You had best know what you're doing.

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That looks fun. Autobahn is def a bucket list item for me. 

About 10 years years ago, going to a car show in Glen Cove, NY, a group of us (mostly M3s and 335s) were blasting up the NJ turnpike at 130+ at 6am. It was completely empty except for us. I may or may not have hit the 155 limiter at one point :icon_twisted:. Made it from Richard Stockton rest stop to the GW bridge in 30 min... I was in the back just trying to keep up in my E39 and around every bend I was waiting for a line of cop cars to be blocking the highway and arrest all of us. A porsche cayenne was with us and had a go pro mounted to his hood and filmed the whole thing. Wish I had met him to get a copy. Really hoping its destroyed now lol

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Austria has an Autobahn too.

Some time in 1945/46,  my dad was stationed in Austria as part of the post war EOF. I wanna say it was Salzburg but can't be 100% certain.  One morning he was approached by a colonel who asked him if he would drive to Italy to pick up last minute  "supplies" for some sort of diplomatic banquet being held that evening.  The reason my dad was singled out for this very important mission was his fluency in Italian.

My dad  was reluctant because the trip was hundreds miles each way and felt there was no way he could reasonably complete the round trip in time for the banquet.  Colonel party planner took my dad to a parking lot full of confiscated vehicles where he was permitted to appropriate any one he wished for the mission.  It turns out, war criminals and collaborators owned some pretty fancy sports cars.  Well, being Italian, pop naturally gravitated towards a Maserati, just sitting there waiting to be liberated.  He was given some travel passes and fuel vouchers and sent on his way.

The way dad told the story, it took him a while to get up the nerve to put the peddle to floor.  Eventually he was on some straightaways where he reached a cruising speed of 120mph, with the engine still offering more to give.  When he crossed over into Italy (where there is no Autobahn, and has speed limits) he was already accustomed to the freedom of the Autobahn and mostly ignored the Italian speed limits. He was on an important mission.   At some point the polizia saw him coming, and gave chase.  They gave up after a couple miles.

So, dad reaches his destination for the pick up.  His freight was several cases of wine and one case of grappa (Italian brandy), yanno, "essential banquet supplies".   The return trip was less eventful and not as much fun because the novelty faded and driving that fast for a long time wears down a driver.  Apparently, the one hitch in the gray mission was that, somehow, a bottle of grappa was lost because it was carelessly dropped when loading up the car.  At least that's what dad told the colonel.

 

 

 

 

  • Haha 1

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3 hours ago, Scorpio64 said:

Austria has an Autobahn too.

Some time in 1945/46,  my dad was stationed in Austria as part of the post war EOF. I wanna say it was Salzburg but can't be 100% certain.  One morning he was approached by a colonel who asked him if he would drive to Italy to pick up last minute  "supplies" for some sort of diplomatic banquet being held that evening.  The reason my dad was singled out for this very important mission was his fluency in Italian.

My dad  was reluctant because the trip was hundreds miles each way and felt there was no way he could reasonably complete the round trip in time for the banquet.  Colonel party planner took my dad to a parking lot full of confiscated vehicles where he was permitted to appropriate any one he wished for the mission.  It turns out, war criminals and collaborators owned some pretty fancy sports cars.  Well, being Italian, pop naturally gravitated towards a Maserati, just sitting there waiting to be liberated.  He was given some travel passes and fuel vouchers and sent on his way.

The way dad told the story, it took him a while to get up the nerve to put the peddle to floor.  Eventually he was on some straightaways where he reached a cruising speed of 120mph, with the engine still offering more to give.  When he crossed over into Italy (where there is no Autobahn, and has speed limits) he was already accustomed to the freedom of the Autobahn and mostly ignored the Italian speed limits. He was on an important mission.   At some point the polizia saw him coming, and gave chase.  They gave up after a couple miles.

So, dad reaches his destination for the pick up.  His freight was several cases of wine and one case of grappa (Italian brandy), yanno, "essential banquet supplies".   The return trip was less eventful and not as much fun because the novelty faded and driving that fast for a long time wears down a driver.  Apparently, the one hitch in the gray mission was that, somehow, a bottle of grappa was lost because it was carelessly dropped when loading up the car.  At least that's what dad told the colonel.

 

 

 

 

Love it.  The things we could do before the world got so interconnected is just awesome 

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I backpacked around Europe after high school. I tried to rent a Ferrari to drive on the autobahn while in germany. The guy behind the counter started laughing and said the only car I could rent would be a SHO Taurus. I took what I could get and still had a blast maxing out the car multiple times. 

In hindsight I probably would have wrecked and died if they gave me the Ferrari 

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Last time I was in Germany a few years ago I had rented a "small" Opel Sedan. My flight was delayed, so the rental car place gave my car away. When I showed up, they only had a Volvo 60 with a turbo diesel that they upgraded me to. Near Berlin and Dresden, lots of speed limits ( 80-130kph/ 50-80mph) due to roadwork and traffic, but south of Dresden heading into Bavaria nice stretches of straight open roads with no limit. I had the car up to 225kph (140mph) more than a few times! 

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