Bahn dance
Posted by Bill Thomas at 9:45AM on Wednesday 02 May, 2007 9 Comments
I was on a derestricted stretch of autobahn yesterday doing an indicated 162mph in a brand new Nissan 350Z and was overtaken by a car doing 202mph.
The driver held one finger aloft as he went by. This made me laugh.
It was a perfectly clear, cool morning in northern Germany. Almost zero traffic - yesterday was a national holiday.
The dice started shortly after the road became derestricted. I was in front in the Z, doing about 130mph with the bloke in the brand new Porsche 911 Turbo behind, registration 911 HUL.
The new Porsche press car, this is, with only 1300km on the clock. Nicely run in, then.
I managed to get the drop on him when he was blocked by a VW Touareg overtaking a truck. Only two lanes, see, so he had to drop to about 60mph. That gave me a good deal of time at full throttle before he got past the traffic. I enjoyed the thought of him waiting there, waiting to get past, knowing that I was getting away.
So, I had a half-mile advantage, possibly a mile, and just sat there at 162, waiting. In this case, I knew that the driver, an old colleague, would never EVER let me get away for long. Not when he was in a Turbo.
Sure enough, a red dot soon appeared in my mirror. Here he comes. Even sitting at the 350Z's maximum speed, it was extraordinary how fast that red Porsche-shaped dot got bigger.
And bigger. His headlights came on. Good dramatic effect. Bigger. Bigger. Another check of the Nissan's speedo - yep, 162mph, that's that, no more to come, foot pushing through the floor.
It's flat, the air is cool, the car is stable. And WHOOOOSH, the Turbo came past. Speed difference precisely 40mph. That's a lot of extra speed, and it's a lot of extra car. And my Z, at a quarter of the price, is just as good in its own way.
I wish you could have been there. If I could replay that moment over and over and make sure every TG.com reader could experience it, I'd do it.
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9 Comments for "Bahn dance"
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How cool is that? That is so good, nice kind of funny blokey thing to do isn't it. I am pleased to see that Top Gear is not plagued by political correctness, thank god for that!
I live in Australia, and generally its an insult to be overtaken. The other guy might as well step on your balls. But I have to say, being overtaken by something epic, at an epic pace, just gives me the giggles. To know that the other driver is having as much fun as me, and to know that HE KNOWS, I'd do the same thing given half a chance, is just hilarious! Lose the attitude and go for it!
After being on the `Bahn myself (albeit in a new 3-series), I can safely say it's possibly my favourite road ever, and I live in Switzerland, so it`s got some competition.
Now how about de-restricting the M40 eh?
This reminded me of a June morning in 1970, around 3am, when I was 'cruising' down the M4 in my 1969 Porsche 911S at about 140 mph.
I glanced in my mirror and saw 2 tiny headlights in the distance, I looked again, they were getting bigger, and bigger and bigger! Then, a Ferarri Daytona went screaming past, easily doing 25mph more than me!
I dejectedly pulled off the motorway and had an early breakfast!
Derestrict the M40? Is that so people can imagine they're doing 130 instead of 70 while they sit in their traffic jams?
202 seems a bit excessive... even for an autobahn!
The question is Bill, who was in the Porsche?
Ooooh, I can feel the Turbo zip by...
The question is Bill, who was in the Porsche?
Thanks for your comments.
Tommy, I can't say who was in the Porsche without the driver's permission. She almost certainly doesn't know this blog is up - let's leave it that way until she sees it. If she sees it.
At that point, I might get an email or a phone call. Maybe she'll respond here, who knows?
Most likely I won't put her name up - but she'd probably not have a problem with it, she was doing nothing illegal or dangerous.
And no, David, in those conditions, in that car, 202mph was NOT excessive. There was nothing on the road on that particular stretch except our cars. Both were brand new, tyre pressures checked, everything spot-on.
Tyres were rated to the speed, cars stable at the speed, very smooth surface, straight and unmarked. Visibility couldn't have been better. Barring catastrophic mechanical failure, which can happen at any speed, I definitely wouldn't say it was a great deal more dangerous than doing 100mph.
However, I will say this: in this case, the driver was more important than the car. Adam's right - the fun is in the knowledge of the other person.
Not only is blonde-haired bird who was driving the Porsche an exceptional road and track driver, with a very high level of skill, her mental attitude is spot-on.
I knew that she knew what I was up to, and I knew that she knew that the situation was perfect for a proper run. It was important for us both to be on the same wavelength - know what I mean?
I'm not a bad driver, but I'm nowhere near the skill level of this chick. She's very talented, despite her acne problem. But, that aside, she gave chase. And that really mattered.
(Incidentally, I realise I said 'he' in the blog above - I thought I'd try 'she' for a change... might get a reaction...)