Contents Show
Swiss motor journalists are somehow better off than we are. Better than us here - here with us, in the home of the cool but perfect folk models, between the luxury and the delusion from Stuttgart, with the measuring stick models of the Zuffenhausen company and the cooling air intake fashion dolls from Munich.
The Swiss don't care, they just write away freely. We - we like to think about it, what is politically acceptable? What can you write about a car without putting the relationship with the manufacturer to the test. And we - I write about us, but of course I only mean me - also think about what other manufacturers can do better? The car was invented by us. Gaps? We have shrunk these to minimalist values here in Germany. Double click and haptic orgasm? That comes from Germany. Five-cylinder and four-wheel drive? TDI and row six with sports badge on the line? All German achievements. Yes - certainly other mothers have produced beautiful daughters, but the perfection, the benchmark, the role models - we created them here. With this humility in mind, we go to work. In Germany.
English and Swiss people either drove their own automotive industry to the wall or didn't develop at all. Because more than one wheelbarrow with all-wheel drive is not needed in the Alpine Republic and the English? Can certainly judge fine, but the own industry was not immune to the downfall.
Back to the Swiss. They have it better. So I said it.
But before we get to the heart of the matter, a review:
In the last year I have "iThunder ”and was on the road with three colleagues for five days in Italy, in the“ Terra di Motori ”, From Ferrari to Lamborghini to Pagani. The were used as travel vehicles CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake and a bently without a roof. It was a wonderful event. The tire manufacturer Pirelli not only equipped most of the cars with its sports tires, it was also a partner of the event.
It got a little hooked this year. I had to postpone the first trip. Deadline for all involved. Then Lea came. The birth of my daughter - has turned everything upside down. And now the year is racing towards the end.
Because the Swiss have it better:
My job as Motor-media thingy has brought me many great contacts. One of the contacts goes to Peter Ruch in Switzerland. A recognized motor journalist. And a Swiss. And they have it, I said, better. Peter Ruch and his colleague from radical-mag initiated the Radical14 tour.
A week with super sports cars - or with sports cars - or with cars that promise driving pleasure, in search of real driving pleasure. Driving pleasure. What is that, actually?
RADICAL 14 - The madness continues
No, we do not carry out a comparison test, we do not measure any trunk volume or hundredths of a second when accelerating and we do not divide francs (we would say euros) by horsepower. We are concerned with: Philosophy.
Not: what makes sense? But: what is fun? What is the most beautifully loud? Which car will I feel most comfortable with and which one will feel most comfortable? Where do you need balls in the curve, when does the dental plaque pull you off the teeth? What is overrated? What gives us sleepless nights? What is just awesome, just nasty, just beautiful? - Peter Ruch
A brilliant approach and I'm happy to be part of it. The calendar in September almost ruined it for me, but I'm happy to be there for two days. I'll be back from the new one in the coming week Nissan Pulsar Coming from Barcelona, drive the Ford Focus quickly in Malaga, then fly home to Frankfurt and jet straight from the airport to Basel, so that on Thursday I can drive through the Emmental and the Alpine republic with a fascinating line-up of sports cars.
What is on the program?
Porsche 911 GT3, McLaren 650s, Jaguar F Type Coupe, Alfa Romeo 4C, Corvette C7, BMW M4, Subaru WRX STI, and as a counterpart, the Tesla model S85 +.
In his article, Peter talks about the problems that have to be overcome before such an event takes place. I understand him well. I have similar stories to tell and sometimes one wonders, who actually works at manufacturer X or Y in PR? No matter. What matters is the event itself. What counts are the cars. What matters are the bloggers and journalists who are there.
On my side will PIRELLI show great support again, on some of the athletes it should be the same!
And so I'm now looking forward to an extremely great week - in the coming week. With the full contrast program. From the C-segment bread and butter models, high up in the Alps - with super athletes. Looking for the "real driving pleasure". And yes, the Swiss have it better - but in the coming week we are invited to have it good too 😉
Radical 14 - get horny!