Slipstream - November 2005

Carrera Cruises - Porsche in Ferrari Land
by Alan Lage
Alan is a 12 year Maverick member. A job transfer currently has
him living and working in Mainz, Germany. He drives a black 968
while in Dallas that Mike Lockas and Clarence Wyatt are baby sitting.
In Germany he drives a speed yellow 996 C4S.
Thursday of Memorial Day weekend
Verena and I loaded up the 911 and
left Mainz for a long weekend of fast
cars, shoes, relaxing in the sun, great food
and wine. Yes, we were heading to Italy.
After a late after-work start we decided to
spend the night in the south German town
of Freiburg near Switzerland. With occasional
bursts of 250+ kph on some stretches
(on the no speed limit autobahn), this trip
only took us one and a half hours.
The next day we were up early and off to Maranello, Ferrari
land. The drive took us through Switzerland, where the strictly
enforced 120 kph speed limit mimics the Swiss people well known
throughout Europe as slow movers. In contrast: once we crossed
the Italian border, even though the speed limit only increased to
130 kph, the traffic on the autostrada began to move much faster
and chaotically just like the Italian people move through life in
what appears to be a constant chaos that somehow works.
My favourite Italian driving method is to speed down the middle
of the two lanes, if a car is coming up quickly behind, you move
to the right lane. If you start to catch traffic in front, you move to
the left lane while your left blinker quickly moves slow traffic to the
right, making your pass quick and safe. As the speed differential
between a Fiat Topolino and my Carrera can easily approach 200
kph, this Italian style of lane discipline works perfectly for everyone
on the road no matter how much horsepower you are packing.
Now if we could only get some lane discipline in the good ole USA.
Once off the autostrada, the back roads to Maranello are ruled
by Ferraris, Porsches - mainly black Cayennes which would be my
choice as a North Italian mafia leader - and the ever present Vespas
and Piaggios whizzing around us like bees protecting their hives.
Mix this with the notorious Fiat Bravo (are they all silver?), three
wheel Apes (bee in Italian) and you have some serious back road
chaos that somehow works.
Maranello would be a sleepy small Italian town if not for the
ever present howl of the V8 and V12 Ferrari engine. After an afternoon
spent browsing the Ferrari store, drooling at the Ferrari
museum, a truly awesome display of street and racing Ferraris and
engines, and trying to gain access to the Fiorano test track (but
only getting glimpses of its action by peaking through the fence on
the side of a back road), we drove by the factory. Just at this
moment a factory fresh F430 howled through the back gate and a
shift of factory workers all sporting red cavallino work outfits
ended their day. Still later in the evening as we went to dinner we
spotted the “men in red” having an aperitivo at the local café and a
Campari at the pub. These factory workers must be so proud to be
part of Ferrari land that their work outfits do not even come off
during their evening social time.
Photo Provided by Alan Lage
Cross Pollonation - Ferrari Garb in a Carrera
After securing a hotel room we took a quick blast up a back
Maranello road which looked like the neighbourhood where the
Ferrari owners lived, the road had plenty of extra curves which
appeared to be put there only for the pleasure of the residents. The
restaurant “Il Cavallino” (Enzo’s favourite) was
our choice for an authentic Italian Ferrari
dining experience. While drinking red wine
and waiting on our dinner the wait staff and
cooks all headed outside to take a look at the
Speed Yellow Carrera setting in the parking lot.
When they returned we asked our waiter why
the excitement over the Porsche in the midst of
Ferrari land? The waiter said: “we grew up next
to the Ferrari factory and see them every day.
But a Carrera, now, that is exciting…”
Obviously also for the cook, who in his state of
Porsche fervour simply forgot to prepare half of Verena’s dinner!
Saturday we moved onto the Sirmione peninsula on Lake
Garda, where the medieval cobblestone-streets are so narrow that the
Carrera’s wide rear hips almost brushed the walls of the houses right
and left. Fortunately they were mostly one-way-roads; still I had to
be careful not to run over an elderly Italian lady chitchatting with her
neighbour across the street or a smiling old man enjoying the sun on
a chair in front of his house. Our hotel was situated on the East shore
Photo Provided by Alan Lage
T-Shirts are Cheaper Than an Enzo!
of the peninsula next to the ancient Sirmione castle. It was simple
with a great balcony view and the sound of the waves crashing
against the lake shore. We explored the shops and beaches ending the
day with an excellent seafood and pasta meal washed down with
great wine and grappa.
Sunday we explored the west coast of Lake Garda with a main
stop in Gargnano, where Verena once spent a summer studying
Italian in the beautiful Palazzo Feltrinelli, the Milan’s University summer
school situated directly on the lake. A few hot afternoon hours
were spent under the olive trees on the beach reading and napping.
The weekend ended on Monday with a final stop at Brescia for
window shopping and a spectacular late lunch, before we had to
slow-move back through Switzerland. We hit the German border
early Monday evening; very light traffic allowed the music of the flat
six at full song fill our ears until we arrived home in Mainz.
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