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Hockenheim has 12 curves. Spa, with 13 combinations, has a couple more. The Green Hell of the North Loop challenges drivers with 33 left and 40 right curves. Difficult to remember, but possible with some practice. What does the line through the curves look like when you put together a sequence of passes to suit your taste? When you include the Großglockner, Falzarego, Sella Ronda, Stilfser, Flüela, Albula, Tremola and the Andermatt Loop in one tour? And when the twists and turns of the mountain passes turn into a tongue-twister as impossible to pronounce as the following monster Großglockdreizinnfalzaregogiaupordoisellagrödnercampolongopordoikarrernigerpenserjaufenstilfsergavia-umbrailflüelaalbulajulierbernardinolukmanieroberalptremolafurka-grimselsustenklausen?

  • No question: to decipher the code of the curve and to obey the rules of the (mountain) road is the true supreme discipline for man and machine. Mind and body, chassis and powertrain, courage and prudence – wherever you look, they must all be brought into harmony. They must result in a flow, they must blend with each other. Watch out, guys: machine at work

  • That‘s how we did it and in the choice of the right material, which is such an important factor for the XY-chromosome 48% of the population, we placed a high value on maximising traction and retardation, lateral acceleration, steering precision, high-end orchestration of the dB-fetishists, balance between braking and steering, heart beats per revolution, fresh air and UV supply and an otherwise contemporary puristic design. In other words: we covered 2,200 km of mountain road. In four days, three nights, on two seats, in a car: the Boxster Spyder. We felt as if the modern and classic had made a pact to bestow on us unfiltered driving pleasure of a contemporary nature. Changing gears in a manual manner, perceived declutching a hundred thousand times, getting the left leg back in training after having lost the habit of double declutching and the accompanying release of endomorphins. Far, far away, but not far from here.

  • (c) Text: Andreas Henke • Fotos: Stefan Bogner