GPICERACE – Early morning espresso on top of the Glockner in the middle of supercars. Is there a better way to start the day?
Vrooooom…if that’s the first thing you hear in the morning, as a 911 GT3 drives by at your hotel room, you know that today will be a good day. It’s 5:30 in the morning, pitch black and freezing cold as we get into the car and set off to the meeting point. Still not quite awake and driving through the morning fog, all of the sudden we find ourselves in the middle of a traffic jam being surrounded by several 911 GT3s, a 2.7 Carrera RS, Boxster Spyder and many more cars you normally don’t see at this time.
But this isn’t a coincidence – this is the starting point for one of the greatest drives of the year. As the clock turns six, the gates open and the madness begins. We are on the Großglockner High Alpine Road, and with us only petrolheads with great driving machines.
Climbing up the winding roads we are not only discovering the different types of vegetation of the Glockner, but also the sky as it turns from black to blue, and so we are driving into the day like never before. Following the flat six symphony of a GT3 in front of us we are approaching the peak at over 2.300 meters and are ready for the first coffee stop. As we are sipping the coffee, the cars just don’t stop arriving, a VW Beetle followed by a Lancia Delta Integrale followed by a 1970 911 Targa, what a fantastic variety! However, that was just the beginning, as we look up to the road and had to pinch ourselves to believe what was about to come. A Porsche 918 Spyder driven by no one else than Dr. Wolfgang Porsche himself. Following his son Ferdi with a original Porsche 911 2.7 Carrera RS. That’s just the Porsche way to be at the Glockner.
With the sun now slowly rising above the silhouette of the mountains you just head to take a deep breath and calm down for a moment to appreciate this atmosphere. But the calming down doesn’t last long, as the next special guests arrive. The RUF family with not one, but three cars, two of which, what a surprise, RUFs. I am not sure if there ever was gathering of cars and people like this at such an altitude, but I could get used to that.
By the way, the reason for this meeting is because, as the organizers of the GPICERACE later announced, the restaurant where the get-together took place at the Fuscher Lacke now is in their possession and so a Cars & Coffee like this won’t be the last one.
With the sun now fully showing the breathtaking scenery, it is time to get back into the driving seat to soak up this striking piece of asphalt in the heart of the Alps. Analyzing every detail, breaking, – shifting down, – heel and toe, – steering in, – and putting the foot back on the throttle …this thrill will last forever.
See you at the GPICERACE in 2022 in Zell am See!
