In February I’ll be in Berlin for a week, and it dawned on me that it would be fun to drive some hot car (Porsche, BMW, etc.) on the Autobahn. (Now before a lot of people jump all over me and say I’m going to get myself killed, I’ll just say that I have a lot of experience driving powerful sports cars on racetracks, so that’s not a concern.)
I’ve done some searching, but all the usual rental car places seem to be offering ordinary American sedans with automatic transmission. The closest I’ve found so far are an Audi A6 and a VW Passat, which might be fun, but not my first choice. (Expensive too, 110 euro a day, but I was expecting that.)
I’d probably just get it for a day, run for a few hundred miles and come back.
So can anyone give me any hints about living my dream: companies that rent sports cars in Europe (specifically Berlin), how you did it, problems to expect, etc.?
I’d imagine that if you drove recklessly anywhere, you’d get the local police on your ass but quick. Yes, booming down a public road as fast as you can in a fiberglass coffin is reckless.
I know what the rules on the Autobahn used to be, but I don’t know how legal what you plan is now, and I don’t think the SDMB is the place for discussions of questionable legality.
Quick story. Business trip in Germany. We drove to a country town a regular two-lane road. I looked at the spedometer. Yes, we were going fast as fuck, but I needed to do some math.
Turns out we were going 115 mph on a road that would have been limited to 55 in my own Indiana. My gawd.
My commonsensical guess about renting a Porsche or other hot car is that it will be hard to find. Most rental places buy a bunch of similar cars in bulk.
Hey, how about a test drive at Porsche dealer there?
I went to Germany for a week in the summer of 2000 with my brother and a friend. As Teelo pointed out, there are several “autobahns”, or motorways, throughout Germany. The speed limits can vary at different times during the day and depending on weather conditions. The routes we took (Frankfurt to Heidelberg to Stuttgart to Munich) had overhead lighted signage that showed the current limits. Also, as you near cities where traffic congestion may be a problem, the limits tended to be lower. But there were, thankfully, stretches where there was no limit. We had rented a Mercedes E320 with a diesel and 6-speed manual. The fastest I could get it was about 220kph (roughly 138mph I think), and we were still being passed by BMW and Audi station wagons! Stay out of the left lane unless you are passing. It was never frightening, as German drivers are MUCH more courteous and safe than typical American drivers. The roads were wide and well-marked too. As far as renting sports cars, I know it can be done, but I don’t know specifics.
I don’t think there’s much question of legality when the legality of the Autobahn is as clear as the legality of American roads, I’d imagine. How about some factual answers?
I question the sanity of anyone who hasn’t fantasized about taking their car for a joyride at ludicrous speed.
Derleth, chill. There are still plenty of stretches on the Autobahn without speed limits, people drive really, seriously fast and yet accident rates remain low. If you’re alert and competent, the risk is no higher than on other freeways. It’s just how it works.
commasense, spend a little time picking up on the unwritten rules and you’ll be fine. Never overtake on the right - and emergency blinkers mean that traffic is stopped up ahead. (Correct reaction is to turn on your own for 3-4 seconds while braking…) Oh, and there are plenty of stretches with speed limits - and speed cameras, too.
A place you may want to look into is Sixt (huge German auto rental company) - they generally cater to the German market and as such provide stick-shifts as standard. Some of the cars on their site look sorta fun - although, perhaps, not super-sporty. I know little of cars, but if I’m correctly informed, a Mercedes CLK is not considered a boring car.
Sixt in English - the prices are per week, incidentally. The international website does not list the entire fleet - Sixt’s German website (www.sixt.de) has some additional nifty cars - Audi TT Cabriolet, for instance. Back when, I was once handed the keys to an Alfa Romeo 156 because they were out of VWs. An e-mail to Sixt might be worth your while.
Good portions of the Autobahn (IIRC, upward of 40%) DO have speed restrictions. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of roads near Berlin to exercise your best Michael Schumacher impressions.
There’s a lot of traffic on the Autobahn. If you want to get the most out of your days, get out early.
Germans (and Europeans in general) have very good lane discipline. Get in the left lane, floor it and you’ll be fine. If anyone is in your way, get up on their ass and highbeam them. It may seem rude, but it’s standard behavior in Germany. Cars get out of your way.
If you do have the misfortune of being pulled over for whatever reason, be advised that cops generally pull you over from the front. They’ll wave you over with a small red stop-sign-shaped thingie. If you have the misfortune of being caught by unmarked cars (usu. Audis or Mercedes in Germany), you’ll see a nice little red LED screen pop up in the rearwindow of the car that says something like “Halten Sie, bitte” or something to that effect.
Avis rents a Mercedes C300 somewhere in Berlin. Don’t know if that’s what you’re looking for. Hertz rents a Jaguar S-Type in Berlin, or says they do, which is a little closer to what you want. And a BMW 3-Series.
I searched at locations close to the airport, since I know nothing about Berlin’s layout. May want to give Hertz a try.
Where have you been checking for rental cars? Even the standard rental agencies in Germany offer much more interesting vehicles than you would see in the US.
For example, a quick check of Sixt shows a BMW 3-class special on the intro page, with an Audi TT on their Cabrio page, and Thrifty has a Porsche 911 in the Spezial class.
Derleth: WTF??? Show me where in my post it says anything about breaking laws or doing anything insane.
As peritrochoid points out, there are stretches of superhighway in Germany where there is no posted speed limit. Hence it is not possible to break speeding laws (conditions permitting). I mentioned my track experience to assure fellow dopers that any high-speed driving I do won’t be reckless. Please read more carefully before climbing up on your high horse.
Thanks to everyone else for the ideas. Keep 'em coming.
Gee, how did you determine how to translate “The”.
Yes, flashing your lights* means “get the f–k over and let me pass”. If you’re driving in the left lane, you better keep one eye glued to the rear view. You’ll be amazed how quickly someone can pull up behind you.
*as opposed to here in CA, where most people seem to think it means “please slow down so I can get even more pissed off”.
Crap crap crap. Just noticed you’re going in February…eh…you may be out of luck. Check with the site, but I don’t think the free sections open to the public until March.
Once, while driving from Hamburg to Munich, I did 220 km/h (on the speedo) in a VW Golf 1.9 TDi (110 bhp). Downhill. That was fun.
Try renting a ‘hot’ turbo diesel - Seat Leon 1.9 TDi (150bhp) is mighty fine. 320 Nm of torque at just 2000rpm. ::slurp:: You can get the same engine in the Golf, but the Seat will be less expensive to rent. And it looks waaaay hotter.
A word of caution though - seeing as you’re going to be there in February, don’t count on finding too many stretches of autobahn without a speed limit. It’ll depend on the weather.
I’ve driven a lot faster in Mexico than in Germany. Yeah, there are speed limits in Mexico, but not a whole lot of enforcement :).
The biggest problem in Germany was always congestion. That and the maximum speed limit of military vehicles. We usually made the Hanau-Frankfurt-Heidelberg run, and it was usually spent stuck in the stau (congestion).
Going to Fulda, on the other hand, let us really take advantage of the hefty 318 in our Dodge van (not a military tactical vehicle, but military nonetheless). It would move. Don’t laugh – yeah, it’s a big van, but remember Mexico? A Suburban I had regularly went 200k/h, where it just maxed out electronically.
I think all autobahns have a speed limit of 240 km/h (at which speed the police can take away your car I’ve been told). There are lower speed limits in winter and at night. Also the recommended max speed is 130 km/h, anything above that is at own risk and not covered by insurance.
Flashing lights (long lights in the night) mean let me pass. Blinking right-turn light also means “let me pass” (more politely) as well as “beware I’m passing”. Close up behind another car and continuous long lights means “get the fuck away now!”
If you’re the last car in a queue it’s a good idea to blink your disaster lights. And fer Christ sake don’t hog the left lane if someone wants to pass.
Last summer I drove to Greece (from Copenhagen) last summer, and to Seville last winter. I found the best roads were between Nurenberg and Munich. Many lanes each direction, long (long!) stretches of straight road with good visibility. But generally the roads in eastern Germany as well as north Germany are not so good – but perhaps they’re ok around Berlin?
Most people drive 140-160 I think. I maxed at 200 km/h. But even at that speed was often overtaken by some cars that drove quite a lot faster than that.
An e-mail to Sixt might be worth your while.