DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

So, the best drive? For us, it’s what came next - The Grimsel Pass, in the GT3. New enough, wide enough, sweeping enough so you can exercise the Mezger 3.6 engine. Great sight lines so other traffic is easily passable if it’s slow, or great to drive with if it’s spirited. The scenery is great too.

We stopped for a coffee on the terrace of The Hotel Grimselpasshohe at the summit. The temperature at 2pm was coolish, but the sun’s rays were strong. Trish took a liking to the tables and chairs.









Other sports cars were parked randomly around. Unlike the Furka there’s plenty of room and a choice of cafes.



From there we only had a short drive to our hotel, a favourite place we’ve stayed before - The Naturesort Handeck, another family run place in a grand old style. We followed an old Swiss Volvo, out for a stroll.










The fresh flowers on the breakfast room table say it all about the hospitable style you’ll find here. At night you hear nothing but the birds and the running water from all the surrounding falls as the ice melts.

We left early the next morning (yesterday) on a 7 hour drive to Auxerres - and 40degs heat, and stayed here last night in a cheap modern hotel - chosen for its aircon and garage parking! As we sit down to supper, it’s a furnace outside!


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I now understand we did what many Parisians did yesterday - sought out a cheap Ibis ‘Styles’ hotel to shelter from the 40degs heat. Just walking from the garage to reception was an intense ordeal, but once inside - bliss.



Mind you their rather ancient aircon was struggling - a tell tale drip bucket was deployed in the dining room. Everyone just pretended not to notice it, praying that it wouldn’t force a shutdown repair.



As a result we slept well (last night) with the aircon wheezing in our cell - we never even opened the mechanical shutters to look at any potential view outside - just hunkered down in a semi-cool room.



At breakfast it felt pretty sweaty. The grumpy manager who’d been over controlling his bright young staff the night before had obviously taken a chance to cut back on energy expenditure and switched off the downstairs aircon everywhere, except in the check out area. Never mind we were on the road early.



As we moved up through central France to Cherbourg the temperature dropped. We avoided Paris in the hope of preserving sanity and wing mirrors.



As usual the ferry was a great petrolhead meeting place. This modified 3.2 Carerra behind us had been on the ‘Europe Run 2026’ a pay-your-money-and-join-in blast for a wide ranging group of powerful sports cars through some of the great European roads and hotels. The driver said it had been great until the traffic jam they’d just encountered. He got very concerned for his aircooled engine, so he just put on his warning flashers and motored carefully down the emergency lane - hence arriving considerably earlier than his mates.

At the end of our line a fine old Lagonda, with a fine old pair driving it had somehow survived the intense heat.



Nice reg plate.



In the absurd Customs scrum that follows disembarking (only 2 of the 4 kiosks were staffed) the Lagonda took no prisoners and edged his way forcefully through the crowd, then held us all up as we gingerly picked our way through the appalling roadwork mess that is Poole ferry terminal. God knows what first impression visitors get. Great to be back in England.





And so we arrived back late last night, having picked up some milk at the night pay section on the A303 services - the guy willingly abandoned his post and toddles off to pick up whatever you want from the shelves.



We did 3k+ miles, and the car never missed a beat in extreme temperatures with full aircon when needed, which was pretty often! We both really enjoyed driving it - the gen 1 is a brilliant road car, and despite its stripped back rudimentary spec it’s a great touring car too.


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Thank you for a great write up. Thoroughly enjoyable read.

Aw that’s lovely. Thanks Kirk - glad you enjoyed it.


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I had a gen 2 996 gt3 which is the car I wish I never sold. Fantastic car and a great read. Thanks


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Thanks - glad you liked the read - and the car! You’re right - should never have sold. As long as I have anything to do with it mine’s a keeper!


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Thanks for writing this up - a great read of a great trip

Thanks - It’s a pleasure Thomas, and time will tell but I’m hoping I may have made a couple of DDK converts from the PCGB people we travelled with. These tours are a great way of meeting new people.


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Warming account, right up our street and very much like our Boxster EuroTrips. Same attitude and same needs.

Re-entering the UK is such a downer. What a mess this immigration system is.

Hope you are planning your next trip, we are, but in the Boxster.

Great trip and write up. Thanks. Been trying to get a few lads to do this for a few years now.

Sounds like a great tour Jeremy - thanks for writing it up

911hillclimber wrote:Warming account, right up our street and very much like our Boxster EuroTrips. Same attitude and same needs.

Re-entering the UK is such a downer. What a mess this immigration system is.

Hope you are planning your next trip, we are, but in the Boxster.

Next trip may be in the old Frazer Nash/BMW Graham, to see a Frazer Nash race that’s part of the Spa 6 hours meeting in late September. We’ve never been to Spa - hoping to correct that!


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stretch wrote:Great trip and write up. Thanks. Been trying to get a few lads to do this for a few years now.

I hope you manage to soon. We lost our old dog last year - he was very frail so we couldn’t leave him with anyone. So after he’d gone we decided this year would be a year of action, we’d get the things done we meant to do, before no doubt finding an older rescue in the winter..


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sladey wrote:Sounds like a great tour Jeremy - thanks for writing it up

Thanks - The pleasure was all ours!


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We are hoping to get to SPA in Sept unless a hill climb beckons..
The endurance race is something else, GT40s with red hot glowing brakes overtaking MinisGot to be done.
Will be our 4th visit.
Hotels can be tricky, book asap.