Trip Reports - Autobahn Fantasy, Top Speed - 158 MPH

This is what I did in November of 2004. Although it is a year old, I decided to post so others also afflicted with a need for speed can learn how I satisfied that itch.

Also, wanted to give back to the FT community that has taught me so much.

Autobahn Fantasy - One of the Best Days of My Life

In August 2004, a former college roommate of mine announced that he received a 3 month work assignment in Frankfurt, Germany from October to December. My friend welcomed any visitors to stay with him and I decided to take him up on the offer. When he asked what I wanted to do when I was there, I told him the only thing I really wanted to do is rent a fast car and drive on the Autobahn.
I flew out Thursday November 12 and arrived Friday morning. I had looked extensively on the internet to rent a fast car for a reasonable amount of money (under $200 a day), but the prices were very high for anything truly fast. For example, a 911 Porsche was $500 a day with 100km included, and 1 euro per kilometer afterward. I thought I’d rent a Mercedes Benz C180 Kompressor, a car my wife owns (called a C230 in the state’s, despite a 1.8L displacement). I knew it wouldn’t be super fast, but it would run about $150 and the Coefficient of Drag of .27 appealed to me. I didn’t reserve it on the internet though, because most websites listed cancellation fees and didn’t guarantee that particular car. Also, most websites listed a C180 Kompressor and I thought for sure someone would have one on their lot.

Friday afternoon, we went to an Avis near my friend’s apartment outside of Frankfurt. I wanted to avoid renting from the airport or a train station, due to the 17% extra tax added on for those locations. This satellite Avis location stated they didn’t have any C180s, but another location had a BMW 320 diesel. I thought that would be a fine car for my purpose, but then the agent stated the car had snow tires. I asked what the speed rating was with snow tires and he said cheap snow tires are limited to 160 kph and the expensive one’s were limited to 190kph. With a max speed of only 110 MPH, I didn’t think I’d even bother to rent a car. My friend’s wife kicked me under the counter for asking too many top speed related questions. After we left, she said she previously worked at a car rental agency and they would blackball customers if they asked too many performance related questions, telling them there were only economy cars available and everything else was reserved. I felt pretty depressed that my dream might not be achieved.
The other bad news I received from the agent was that most cars in Germany get converted to snow tires for the winter. When my friend asked at work about snow tires, a coworker stated if you were involved in an accident and didn’t have snow tires, even if it was not your fault, you could be found partially at fault. The agent recommended I try the airport for the largest selection of cars and perhaps some that hadn’t been converted to snow tires.
Friday night we went to the Frankfurt airport to “shop” for a rental car. All the rental cars are stored on one floor underground. We walked company section to company section looking for a good car. Most of the cars were small, due to gas being $6 a gallon and diesel was $5.20 a gallon. I saw some brand new 300Cs in the Budget lot, and we went inside to see how much they were. 340 horsepower ought to get the job done. The cars were only $100 a day and I reserved one for Saturday morning. I was excited to drive something fast and distinguished the following morning.

Saturday morning we went to the Budget counter to pick up the car. When the agent put the keys on the counter, I noticed it said 3.5 on the tag. Working for Chrysler, I thought this probably meant it had a 3.5L V6, instead of the 5.7 Hemi I thought would be in a 300C. It then occurred to me that no matter what engine is in the car in Europe, they are all called 300Cs, versus the US where V6 cars are called 300s. I asked the agent and she confirmed the car had a V6. I told her I wasn’t interested in the car. She said OK. I then asked if she had anything “more fun”. She said, “Like a convertible?” The temperature was only in the 30s. I said ”No, fast.” I waited to see if her reaction would be negative. She smiled and said,” Oh, schnell. Let’s see what I have.” She was fine with the request. She told me several cars that weren’t much faster than the 300 and then about a E200 turbodiesel without snow tires for about $150 a day. I wasn’t sure about several of the other cars, and asked which would be fastest. She pulled out the registrations of the cars, which in Germany list the horsepower number. Makes it very easy to determine which should be the fastest.
I told her I was going to check at the other 6 counters and see if anyone had anything faster. At the other counters, I told the agents I was looking for a “schnell car” and they told me what they had. Several thought it was cool what I was attempting to do. One wouldn’t find that attitude in the US. I was offered two other E200 turbodiesels. At the last counter, National, they came up with a new 2005 Audi A6 Quattro 3.0 turbodiesel for $150 total including insurance! I was in heaven! Said it had just been returned within the last hour. The car even had a navigation system! I signed the contract and headed to the parking garage to pick it up.

The car was awesome. Most comfortable seats I’ve ever sat in. My mouth started hurting from grinning so much. We left the garage in the already warmed up car and headed south on the Autobahn. Within 5 minutes we hit an unlimited zone and the speedo read over 250 kpm (156 MPH). The car was absolutely rock solid at speed. I had no idea anything could feel that planted going that fast.
Let me tell you my preconceived notions about the Autobahn and what it is actually like. I thought it was one road, like a turnpike in the US. It is the entire highway system. I thought the unlimited zones were in the middle of nowhere. My friend and I could see the skyscrapers of Frankfurt while driving 155 near Frankfurt. I thought I’d be fearful of other drivers in the slow lane pulling out. While I was in “intense scan” mode, the German drivers are very courteous and I had no problems with people pulling out and me having to hit the brakes. I thought the unlimited zones would be on highways 3 or more lanes wide. I passed people going 70 MPH at 150 on two lane (each way) highways. I thought there would have to be some ego on the roads like there is in the US, where if you come up on a slower car, sometimes they speed up instead of pulling out of your way. I experienced no egos, and everyone pulled over quickly. I think the huge speed differentials make that much more of a requirement in Germany than here. I thought I’d be able to drive fast as long as the unlimited zone lasted. I found I was good for 10 to 15 minutes in the 140s and 150s before I needed to decompress and pulled into the slow lane for a breather at 100 MPH. I noticed several other cars that passed me at speed when I was taking my “breather” later tucked into the slow lane doing 100 MPH, and assume they were experiencing the same thing. If a slower car is going to pass, they signal and pull out really early. So if you are running 150, you just take your foot off the gas and may slow to 120 until they’ve completed their pass. Not irritating at all. I also thought the Autobahn would be straight. There are some decent corners on it, even in the unlimited zone sections.

The only slightly scary time came when we were running in the 140s and a slight corner came up. I thought I wouldn’t have to lift, but it was slightly decreasing radius. I tried to lift slightly, but didn’t have my pedal feel down. The engine decelerated harder than I wanted, especially in a corner at 140. My mellow friend casually said, “You might want to watch out for lift throttle oversteer.” After my butt unpuckered, I told him I agreed. I also said I couldn’t believe how relaxed he was not only during the entire drive, but especially that throttle lift. I’d like to think the Audi’s ESP would have helped if I’d needed it, but wondered where Audis’ engineers would have been able to conduct 140 MPH lift throttle oversteer testing on a corner safely.
We ran down to Heidelberg and checked out a castle. Then we went to Stuttgart and headed East toward Munich because we had heard the A8 had a lot of unlimited zones. The A8 was crowded and had a lot of construction. It also had a lot of limited zones. About ½ way to Munich, we decided to take the A7 back to Frankfurt. The A7 crosses the A8 in the middle of nowhere. Although the A7 is only 2 lanes in each direction, there were very few cars on it. Maybe one every tenth of a mile. The Audi stayed in the 140s most of the way home, except when it started to sprinkle.
We made it back to Frankfurt quickly and went out for a great dinner.

Sunday morning, I got up and took the car for a fill up. 62 euros or $81 dollars later, I had put in 15.5 gallons of diesel. We had about 1 ½ hours before the car needed returned. Because the Autobahn just south of Frankfurt was unlimited, we headed there. No traffic that Sunday morning and we ran in the 150s most of the time. We doubled back and got off at the airport. Even though we’d been driving only less than an hour, we needed 12 euros or $16 of fuel for our 48 mile trip. Fuel mileage for the last hour- 16 mpg. Overall trip was 720 km covered with an average mpg of 24.3. Not bad for some extended speeds in the 140s. That’s a combination of a diesel and German engineers calibrating for Autobahn driving. US calibrations would have been richer because they wouldn’t have been calibrated for extended high load driving, but rather to protect the catalyst from over temping.
When we dropped the car off, the same attendant was there that knew of our top speed quest. He asked whether the Audi had been capable of hitting 220 kph. We told him we’d been north of 250. He stated in broken English that there should be a sticker on the back window next to the National sticker that said “Devil inside.” Because that is what this car brings out in people.
One of the best days of my life.

Man, that is pretty fast! I am glad you enjoyed it though. We used to live in Germany and I loved driving on the autobahn. I thought I was going fast in my little Golf at 150! :) I remember when we got back to the US and drove home from the airport it felt like people were driving in slow motion!
Julie

Your trip report brings back some sweet memories! I remember one time in early 90's when me and my brother both rented 911's and played cat and mouse up and down the autobahn. Back then they could be rented for around 700$ a week. I remember also going out to the parking garage and checking out what Hertz had in the luxury edition stalls. Also for anybody's info, usually in the classified ads in the back of Road & Track magazine there is one company that rents out high end luxury and performance cars, but the prices go way North of $150 day! I don't have a recent copy in front of me so not sure if they still do it.

I like your report. I'm glad you got a great car.

This brings back such great memories....

Having grown up in Singapore I also try and convince my dad that when i germany, we need to go all out and rent a VERY nice car for our vacation (we are usually there fore 6-7 weeks and drive all over the place) - I always win :D

- So in the summer of 2002 we had an Audi A6 2.5 TDI
- In the summer of 2003 we had an Audi A6 2.5 TDI and a BMW 530 TD (by the way, I caused a total damage of 19'000 EURO on the A6 while driving on the A8 from Stuttgart - drove over a piece of metal that a truck had lost before me... and I wasn't even allowed to drive the car (I was 19 at the time)!!
- In the summer of 2004 we had the brand new Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro! It was a dream!!
- In the summer of 2005 we had the brand new Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro - but this time with less interior features but from the same car rental company.

And in the past 4 months where I lived in Frankfurt, I rented a car EVERY weekend to drive to Munich - the ladies at the car rental counter knew me so well, that I kept reserving smaller and smaller categories, and they kept giving me bigger and bigger cars! (at one point they offered me the brand new S500! But I declined stating that if the petrol station is not included, I'll pass ;) ).

But everything from an A6, to a 5 series BMW, to an E280, an X5, the brand new ML320.... driven it all.

Bottom line - it's ADDICTIVE! And the german car rental agencies know that people want to drive fast!!

let me tell ya this - i rented a bmw 7 series in berlin - a german friend and i went from berlin to autostadt - he said "oh see that sign, you can go as fast as you want" - im like yea ok

then ZOOOOOOOOOOOM - goes a mercedes by me

so i hit the accelerator - mind you nothing is in miles, only km's -- so i have no idea how fast im going -- 150, 160, 170 - should i slow down? no allen you can go faster...

ok -- so we hit our top speed of 224 going there... im like how fast was that!

on the way back we averaged at 200km's -- which i learned was 135 miles an hour..

this time when i go back in may - im renting the biggest engine they have period.

i want to hit 180 mph :)

and yes, it is addictive - my little jetta here wants to go so fast, but i cant let her cuz of our laws...

August 2001 in the vicinity of Nuremberg. Honda Super Blackbird was showing 200mph on the speedo and my leathers were flapping around like they were made out of cotton. Big, big grin!

great memories for me in my rented Audi A8 blowing down the Autobahn well exceeding 200 klicks. Funny part was having a motorcycle and Mercedes 560SEL fly by me. good times!

August 2001 in the vicinity of Nuremberg. Honda Super Blackbird was showing 200mph on the speedo and my leathers were flapping around like they were made out of cotton. Big, big grin!

Did you ride over from London? I'd love to rent a bike in Germany, but can't imagine anyone willing to rent something truely fast.

This brings back such great memories....

Having grown up in Singapore I also try and convince my dad that when i germany, we need to go all out and rent a VERY nice car for our vacation (we are usually there fore 6-7 weeks and drive all over the place) - I always win :D

- So in the summer of 2002 we had an Audi A6 2.5 TDI
- In the summer of 2003 we had an Audi A6 2.5 TDI and a BMW 530 TD (by the way, I caused a total damage of 19'000 EURO on the A6 while driving on the A8 from Stuttgart - drove over a piece of metal that a truck had lost before me... and I wasn't even allowed to drive the car (I was 19 at the time)!!
- In the summer of 2004 we had the brand new Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro! It was a dream!!
- In the summer of 2005 we had the brand new Audi A6 3.0 TDI Quattro - but this time with less interior features but from the same car rental company.

And in the past 4 months where I lived in Frankfurt, I rented a car EVERY weekend to drive to Munich - the ladies at the car rental counter knew me so well, that I kept reserving smaller and smaller categories, and they kept giving me bigger and bigger cars! (at one point they offered me the brand new S500! But I declined stating that if the petrol station is not included, I'll pass ;) ).

But everything from an A6, to a 5 series BMW, to an E280, an X5, the brand new ML320.... driven it all.

Bottom line - it's ADDICTIVE! And the german car rental agencies know that people want to drive fast!!

Wow, you've driven some great cars!

The real fun is driving an S500 at 240kph in Lebanon, from Beirut to Tripoli (a city up North). Very nice and new highway ^ ... Plus it is always "exciting" to drive in a country that lacks any proper driving "laws" :p ... Adds a bit of spice to the whole experience :D ...

I really enjoy the Autobahn as well. Also, it is nice to see trucks in the right with their top speed posted on them. No crazy truck drivers there.

I love to read these stories of going fast on the Autobahn and regretfully have yet to drive it. However, when young and stupid I regularly raced my '78 400hp trans-am against my friends Z-28 on a narrow two-laned rt 158 in IL at 135 mph. I look back and think how crazy and illegal!!! However, I have a strong feeling that at 17 I have a better memory than driving 200+ on the Autobahn could ever create!! :D :D :D

Did you ride over from London? I'd love to rent a bike in Germany, but can't imagine anyone willing to rent something truely fast.

Yes that was a trip over from London. Aside from the autobahn there was plenty of high speed cruising along the French autoroutes which are seemingly deserted at any time.

As for renting something naughtily quick, I can recommend these guys: www.bosenberg.com . They might not have Backbirds or Hayabusas but they do have many delicious two wheeled toys. If you do use any rental agency then make sure you DON'T get a Swiss spec bike as those funloving clockmakers restrict all bikes to a maximum output of around 85hp.

Yes that was a trip over from London. Aside from the autobahn there was plenty of high speed cruising along the French autoroutes which are seemingly deserted at any time.

As for renting something naughtily quick, I can recommend these guys: www.bosenberg.com . They might not have Backbirds or Hayabusas but they do have many delicious two wheeled toys. If you do use any rental agency then make sure you DON'T get a Swiss spec bike as those funloving clockmakers restrict all bikes to a maximum output of around 85hp.

Great link and great tip! They do rent quick bikes. I'm impressed. ^

let me tell ya this - i rented a bmw 7 series in berlin - a german friend and i went from berlin to autostadt - he said "oh see that sign, you can go as fast as you want" - im like yea ok

then ZOOOOOOOOOOOM - goes a mercedes by me

so i hit the accelerator - mind you nothing is in miles, only km's -- so i have no idea how fast im going -- 150, 160, 170 - should i slow down? no allen you can go faster...

ok -- so we hit our top speed of 224 going there... im like how fast was that!

on the way back we averaged at 200km's -- which i learned was 135 miles an hour..

this time when i go back in may - im renting the biggest engine they have period.

i want to hit 180 mph :)

and yes, it is addictive - my little jetta here wants to go so fast, but i cant let her cuz of our laws...
...if you want to go 180mph...all vehicles of that ilk have electronic govenors at 250kph or about 155 mph. If you want to go a buck 80 you will have to rent something without a govenor, you can ask the dealerships but at that spped you are looking at an exotic so be prepared to spend big $$. One of the great ways to do this is if you are buying a german automobile you can pick it up at the factory before they ship it..get temporary plates and insurance and bomb around in your own ride...when your done on the container ship it goes and ends up at your local dealership for you to pick up in a few weeks...almost all european car manufacturers offer this option.

I really enjoy the Autobahn as well. Also, it is nice to see trucks in the right with their top speed posted on them. No crazy truck drivers there.

If you have to drive over here every day, I am almost sure you will start to curse those trucks - some of them blocking both lanes at their "top" speed of 100km/h almost forever when trying to pass the other truck just going a few km/h slower...

I toped out my Mercedes E300 at around 150 MPH when I was 16 and stupid in the states. Some day when I have some money, I'd love to rent a nice car in Germany.

Cheers

Timo

...if you want to go 180mph...all vehicles of that ilk have electronic govenors at 250kph or about 155 mph. If you want to go a buck 80 you will have to rent something without a govenor, you can ask the dealerships but at that spped you are looking at an exotic so be prepared to spend big $$.


Not quite correct, Porsche does not participate in the "gentlemen's agreement" among the big auto manufacturers in Germany to govern their products at 155 Mph.

No Porsche ever leaves the the factory with a limiter and I highly doubt the car rental company would have one installed. Porsche's can be rented at Avis..etc. in Germany.

I've driven many times over 250kph in Germany and France too, but mostly in Italian cars. I do remember going from Frankfurt to Bonn once, where there are few "open" zones. I opened up to 250 and cruised along. But I didn't notice a speed limit sign in time and I soon got pulled over and had to pay 500DM on the spot. It was a speed trap and they had a trailer setup with a full office and a credit card machine. The cop said that if I had a European license they would have taken it away from me.

Sometimes when I'm cruising along at 250 or 260, someone behind me flashes their lights for me to get out of the way. Then one of the high-end Mercedes flies by at over 300kph. :eek:

Crazy guys :D ....You should go to Tokyo/Japan.
There're some decent high-ways. 4 lane, flat surface, besides, in the early morning(2:00AM~3:30AM) nobody would interrupt your "challenge". If condition permits... you could visit ???Km/h+ world like I did.
Z31:VG3.1DE + TD08-29B >> R32:RB26 + TD08-33B >> M8:S70(6.0L, 6M/T)... Bring it on ;)

Generally, production cars have speed limitting devices(depends on its market. For example, NISSAN 300ZX @250Km/h for Europe, @180Km/h for Japanese). So, prior to challenge(as the first step), you have to screw them anyway.

The devices are getting complicated these days(I mean they are linking with Automatic-Transmission operating units and/or ABS or throttle actuator control module.... Plus, It might be connecting to your insurance company online.), so it's going to be pretty tough to clear these things, especially on recent models.

Or, you may opt... McLaren GT-R/LM. Ferrari F40. Jaguar XJR-220, etc. I suspect they do not have limitting device or any kinds, otherwise... buy a SUPRA/TOYOTA or 300ZX/NISSAN as the base of qualifier and modify it. It usually costs you a 50grand+ though, I bet you can afford.

I'd like you to suggest one thing, about Tires.
Rental cars are equipped with errand tires. It is because for its cost reasons. That features hard compound which makes for low grip level(to the contrary, it enhances your gas-mileage) even makes for terrible wet performance. So, You shouldn't drive the rent-a-car with junky tires at outstanding speed. ;)

Driving safely!

www.e-sixt.de

Try SIXT Rental Cars for Germany. I rented a BMW 650i @ $ 130.00 a day.
Airport agencies generally have a much more upscale selection of cars.
Checking out their lot's also helps a lot to get a feeling for their inventory.
Although,technically, one cannot make a reservation for a specific model, some locations make an exception and, for a nominal charge, will reserve you certain models, if they have them at all at their station. I did that several times and ended up getting the VW Phaeton, the ML 400, the A8 4.2L, the MB S 500L, the BMW 750iL, the SLK 230, the BMW Z4, the Alpha Spider V6...

A great way to spend a day or two is taking the Autobahn from Hannover/Bremen through Bremerhaven to Cuxhaven - the last portion of the Autobahn is straight, two-lane, new and most importantly: free of any traffic. You end up at the German coast - with some great beaches, try Cuxhaven-Duhnen which is a quaint little Coastal town with some very nice upscale hotels and miles of white beaches. Take one of the boats in the morning for shrimp fishing and peeling ... and look forward to a speedy ride back...hit me up with questions!!
:)

I have done 278 km/h in an Audi A8 that was rented from Europcar.

The Benz and BMW definitely had theirs limited at 250 km/h. The Volkswagen Phaeton V-10 TDI and Audi A8 V-8 TDI both did over 270 km/h, but I think the speedometers were wrong because I have an Audi A4 at home. The speedometer indicated 115 mph and I looked at my small TomTom Go 910 navigator that sticks on the window. It indicated 100 mph.

I have rented all kinds of nice 4-door autobahn cruisers in Germany - Audi A8 V8 TDI, BMW 750i, Benz S350, VW Phaeton V10 TDI.

The Phaeton V10TDI has a powerful engine ;).

Nice cars you have driven. All except Porsche were limited to about 155MPH or 250km/h, though the speedometer usually is a little inaccurate and indicates a faster speed.

Well, there are some possibilities to get rid of the electronic govenors ...

I have driven myself a C 32 AMG, a BMW M 3 and an BMW M 5 up to 250 km/h together with the owner of the cars on a nice, sunny Sunday Morning from my hometown to the Dutch Border. There is no speed limit and it is fun.

But ... imagine someone is changing lanes in a VW Jetta driving 100 km/h and you are approaching with 220 km/h ... sometimes is neccesary to have good breaks and the motorway another lane ...

And yes, you are right. The speedometers are indication a higher speed than real (and must so by law: they must show exact speed or higher).