1M........tHe PoLaR bEaR.

[aussieinlondon]

skyrover said:

Looks more penguin than bear to me

nice though

It did start out all white, then it manifested into what sort of resembles a panda bear, but the polar had sort of stuck lol

Saying all that, my wife named it Maddi lol

[problemchild1976]

love the engine cover - hopefully it all stays attached and doesn't flake

JJ

[aussieinlondon]

A couple of others Lee has done in VO are still going strong a year on, plus he had painted the rocker cover on my astra back in 09 which only saw track days and it's spot on to this date.

So fingers crossed

[aussieinlondon]

5 guys, 2 x E9* M3's, 3 x 1M's and 3500 miles of some of the best roads Europe has to offer.

Departing 2200

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=20511690798...

[E30Addict]

That promises to be a sensational trip! Wish I had the time/money to do something similar in my car.

[likesachange]

Wow that will be amazing, look forward to seeing pics!
I am tempted to do some of that route next year starting from lemans....

[aussieinlondon]

Not long returned and pics to follow!



Photo courtesy of Hetan aka h-manuk

[DanielSan]

aussieinlondon said:

It did start out all white, then it manifested into what sort of resembles a panda bear, but the polar had sort of stuck lol

Saying all that, my wife named it Maddi lol

Is that because you're going to go out one night and it'll mysteriously disappear?

[SaucyBoy]

Bring on the pics ; ) bet it was an epic trip, very jealous.

[aussieinlondon]

5 BMW M's, 5 car enthusiasts, 6 European countries, 3100 miles, 81 hrs at the wheel, 18 alpine passes and a trip to the Nurburgring. 3 punctures, 1 speeding fine, temps ranging from 30 deg down to zero, rain, shine and snow..... All done within 10 days with an average 300 miles per day. What more is there to say other than let the pictures do the talking!

Col de Turini
Col de la Bonette
Col d’Izoard
Col du Galibier
Col de l’Iseran (highest in the Alps at 2770m)
Col des Aravis
Grimsel Pass
Furka Pass
St. Gotthard Pass
San Bernardino Pass
Fluela Pass
Ofen Pass
Umbrail Pass
Stelvio Pass
Gavia Pass
Nockalmstrasse
Grossglocker High Alpine Road
Gerlos Alpenstrasse

The clean before the storm


Departed 0120 bound for France




First leg of the journey was a long one, some 800 miles from London to Nice, so an early morning stop and an 'attempt' at sleeping was required.







Encountering our first puncture onroute to Nice and some time out to find help with repairs





And still clean!

BMW was of little help with the repair and we ended up at an Opel dealership of all places


Repair done and Nice bound, and a very late arrival with head hitting pillow and out like a light so no further pictures but plenty of gopro footage to still go through.

Early morning Monaco run around the GP circuit French Alp bound



Col de Turini bound




















And further on we go









My shotgun and co pilot for the trip thanks to my wife but he wasnt the only one lol















The road that lays ahead






















Found some interesting accomodation on route




Meal times and alcohol, not sure what to say about that lol



And some great rooms with a view!





Early morning departures











And plenty of cows and bells













The mountain goat



And the many stops for the perfect mountain views. Did I mention the roads!!!!!!!!!!!!









And the magnificent scenery















































We had orders!













More accommodation found along the way



and a room with a morning view































































































Plenty of video footage to fill in the gaps on the alp climbs and descents

But anyways, here is our room with a view from the mountain hut castle in Stelvio

Early morning sunrise



















And our castle















Mountain goat

































































The second puncture in Italy and help and hand within minutes

http://s417.photobucket.com/user/wreckx2008/media/...











And on we go





Austria and another early morning room with a view shot





























Porsche museum Austria







































We have had some great rooms with a view along our travels and another early morning shot

























































photo bombing I heard is the new in thing







We then make our way into Germany and on to Munich, but not the best rooms with a view....























































































































Then it was on to Stuttgart and the Mercedes museum for Jono and I and the others on to Porsche

Edited by aussieinlondon on Wednesday 25th September 17:59

[aussieinlondon]

And no euro drive would be complete without a trip to the Ring....























And finally : )












































































































Big thanks to Marcus aka Siri aka Mountain Goat, my room mate lol Hetan, Jana, & my fellow aussie Jono who we came very close to smoothering his head with a pillow to drown out the snoring.

Great trip and look forward to the next.

Edited by aussieinlondon on Wednesday 25th September 17:46

[s70rmp]

me and my mate passed you guys, at the god knows which picture number but you guys are all in the petrol/autogrill station

we were in a red 9-3 I think you were going the way we had just come down.

[s70rmp]

[aussieinlondon]

I was just about to ask you which country

Small world, you guys should have dropped in for a chat....

Yep, we was heading in the direction you had come from.

So how long was your trip?

[s70rmp]

when we got home we'd done 2531 we were on the way home after the Monza GP

Did you run in to the clouds on your way up, we ended up at one point doing about 5mph as we just couldn't see.

[aussieinlondon]

Nice bit of mileage there.

We sure did at the very top hit the heavy fog, bumper to bumper.

We saw a number of people heading back from Monza.

[s70rmp]

2531 in 6 days between 2 of us. didn't really get chance stop and see much I'd want to take more time next time.

The top was zero visibility, it was the only time on all the passes I actually got a bit nervous.

I bet your mpg I got 46.8mpg but I have a 200bhp diesel :-) but i'm sure your car handled better then mine, which was surprisingly good

[aussieinlondon]

You sure did outdo us on the mpg lol, I was seeing considerably less at some points but overall 27mpg isnt half bad for a 3lt 6 with 2 blowers.

We would have liked to have stopped a bit more but will revisit some of the places we passed through and concentrate on smaller areas.

We are planning northern Scotland next spring for a week run and then looking at northern Europe Norway/Sweden.

Still a small world none the less you come across us parked up on your travels

[s70rmp]

aussieinlondon said:

Still a small world you come across us parked up on your travels

indeed it is.

I'm thinking a trip the Spanish GP next year but straight there a bit of a holiday on the coast and then straight back

[aussieinlondon]

That would be an interesting drive that one. Nice coastline.

Spain is on the list of drive trips at a later date.