Car Enthusiast Route

There is no THE autobahn. An autobahn is simply the equivalent to a US interstate highway, albeit better engineered and without marked speed limits in some areas. According to Google, Bavaria has more than its share, including the A 7-9, and the A90-99.

If you just want to go vroom vroom in a sports car, then you need to drive away from the built up areas around Munich. Probably the A9 north towards Nuremberg for a decent stretch of unrestricted highway.. But if you want scenery, and drives towards the Alps, then the A95 towards Garmisch Partenkirchen is one of the most scenic in Germany AND has a stretch of unrestricted speeds. There's also a scenic drive on the A8 towards Salzburg. If you want to go to Switzerland, then you would likely drive the A96. Be sure to thoroughly familiarize yourself with the rules for driving on the autobahns. And dont forget to get the proper vignettes to display if your drives take you into Austria or Switzerland.

You will also want to familiarize yourself with possible insurance issues if you have an accident while exceeding the recommended speed (130 kph) in unrestricted zones.

The publishers Michelin have a mapping website, Via Michelin, which allows you to search for scenic routes. If you want to have a look you could compare notes with CJean's advice, which all sounds very sensible to me.

Remember that drivers on the autobahn are very disciplined - the right hand lane is for trucks and slow cars (80 km/h), the centre lane for an intermediate speed (120 - 150 km/h) and the left lane for the very fastest cars (over 150km/h). You need to be obedient in this kind of traffic. If you see a traffic jam ahead (a 'Stau'), put on your hazard lights straight away and slow down to come to a halt. Staus can stretch for 27km at a time and you could be trapped there for several hours. It happens a lot. Causes could be weather, fog, roadworks, accidents, possibly a Geisterfahrer (someone driving the wrong way on the Autobahn). This happens enough for there to a name for it (a ghost driver).

Good luck and have a safe drive!

Lavandula

Germans and Swiss, even drivers with Luxembourg plates, take tunnel safety very very seriously. The speed is reduced, usually to 80 kph, and there are speed cameras before, inside and after most tunnels. If there is a solid line between lanes you must never cross it. If there are chevrons painted on the lanes you must obey them.

When (not if) you come upon a stau you must form an emergency lane for responders coming through, often at a degree of speed. Drivers in the left lane must go as close to the central divider as possible. Drivers in the right and central lanes must pull over to the right as far as possible. Engines must be switched off. If you are in the tunnel at the time you can go to the green doors - they are well signed.

It is worth having some water and snacks in the car - you can be stopped for quite a while.

There is a big difference between American and German/Swiss attitude to speed limits. In most of western and central Europe expect the speed limit to be what it says on the sign or in the National Speed Limits. 80 means 80, 50 means 50. No fudge factor. And the sign doesn't mean take your foot off the gas and drift down. It means that number right there. Speed cameras are often just after speed changes.

Understand the National Speed limits for each country - they vary. And when you pass a settlement, town village or city, sign that means 50 kph until you reach a similar sign with a red line diagonally across. You likely won't see a speed limit sign.

Nigel, EXCELLENT information. Your two posts should be stickies here somewhere, as the advice is unknown to most of us.

Thank you!

From Munich you can drive to Garmisch on A95. There are a few stretches still with no limits. Pick off times or early morning. There is more and more traffic in Bavaria, so even in stretches without limits you are constrained by the traffic. Be knowledgeable about aggressive driving tickets (too close to the car ahead). You can get a heavy fine and a driving ban and a license withdrawal. Trucks are limited on German Autobahns on Sundays, but there is usually a lot of holiday traffic. Consider the secondary roads too. More to see and less quiet barriers, walls and tunnels. I really enjoy driving mountain roads and passes. Not sure you can rent a manual. It takes some skill especially in the mountains. Your destination in Switzerland would guide the route.

Have you considered driving to Stuttgart to visit the Porsche Factory and Museum? Parts of the Bundesautobahn 8 (A8) feature unrestricted speed limits.

I lived in Augsburg, Germany from 1987-1991 and had a Mercedes Diesel 190D that I was able to drive the max of the speedometer (110 MPH).
I found that I had to concentrate so much (you make a mistake at that speed, you are toast) that after a couple of hours, I slowed down to about 85MPH, were I was able to relax to some degree.

You must learn the German rules on the autobahn.
1) If you are driving in the left lane and a car approaches you from the rear (usually flashing their lights), you MUST move over to the right lane or middle if the road has 3 lanes. If there is an accident because you failed to move, YOU are responsible.
2) Be careful of the road conditions, if it starts to rain, the highway oils that have collected cause the road to be slick.

3) There are some areas on autobahns that have speed limits, usually due to heavier traffic. Be sure to follow the rules, If the speed limit is 80KPH, you MUST stick to that. I remember a speed camera once created a ticket for me for going 8KPH over the speed limit (5MPH in the US).
4) Highways in the alps are more likely to have speed limits and the Swiss don't have unlimited speeds. Also, due to the mountains, the roads are more dangerous. Be careful.

Unless you hold a national license from a US racing organization like NASCAR, SCCA, INDYCAR, et al, I don't think you are qualified to drive on the German Autobahns, at least at high speeds. All over Germany you see signs for Fahrschule (driver schools). Germans only get licenses when they have training to drive at high speeds. All we have to do in this country is prove we can parallel park!

The classic high altitude Alps drive is the GrossGlockner.

No special drivers license required to go above the recommended Autobahn speed of 130kph that I'm aware of. Germans do go through an intensive drivers training program, but in my experience they do not drive any better than those from the US. It amazes me just how bad some do drive. High speed driving on the Autobahn takes intense concentration and situational awareness. Not for the novice and certainly not in traffic. You need the right car, high speed rated tires, huge brakes etc. The same Sunday morning I recommend, you have Oma and Opa driving early to Mittagessen. Braking suddenly from 250kph to 90kph is no fun and dangerous. As written in these Forum many times, you always need to keep an eye out behind on the Autobahn. Even at 200kph you might find someone on your tail.
All that said. With the Porsche I would stick to secondary roads and drive mountain passes. Sports car. Might be impossible to find a manual transmission car, but if you can drive one get one. Driving with motorcycle clubs on mountain passes can be another challenge. Those circles you see painted on the curves is so they know where their head is and not in the oncomming lane!