Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche Museum Pics (lots!)

[sahtt]

First, let me start off by saying all of these complexes are worth a visit and the German ones far, far surpassed my expectations.

The MB and BMW facilities are completely over the top and could easily be enjoyed for 4-6+ hours each; if not an entire day. Unfortunately due to logistical constraints, I visited all the German museums on the same day. Despite my amateur photography skills and being in somewhat of a hurry, the pictures still do all the talking.

BMW museum in Munich, Germany.

 

[sahtt]

Mercedes-Benz Museum

Factory adjacent to the museum

Each visitor travels 6-8 floors up in a capsule like elevator and arrives here as the first area of the museum..

Focus on the correct rear on this one..

Interesting facts about the above vehicle-

 

[sahtt]

Porsche Museum

Only about a third of the size of the BMW/MB museum but an impressive collection of cars and history nonetheless.

'the pig' - famous race car

interesting display

actual prototype

must have your porsche napkins..

 

[sahtt]

Porsche Museum (unofficial) located in Austria.

I heard about this place but still more or less ran into it on accident. From the outside it appears to be a well maintained barn.
city

building

But while lies inside is quite spectacular..

 

[sahtt]

Lastly, we have the Ferrari Museum in Maranello. It is a few blocks from the factory and the legend is true - they test new Ferrari's, often with the tape still on the body, on the streets nearby. I followed a brand new 599 for nearly 10 minutes from the rural areas to the factory. What an introduction.

Need to get one of these contraptions

have to pose with my favorite car (NSX close second of course)

Hope you guys enjoyed the pictures. If you have any questions about the museums at all, do not hesitate to ask.

Lastly, a few shots from the rest of my trip-
Valencia, Spain

Switzerland

Zurich in the distance as I head into the mountains

french alps near the col de turini rally course

top of the french alps

With aryton (yes I know I look a bit sad)

one of my longer days in the saddle

 

[Sennansx81]

Awesome pics!!!

 

[Yawwn]

Thanks for sharing!
I've always wanted to visit those museums.

 

[NSX167]

love your photos and thanks for sharing it with us.


Is there any Audi museum? :biggrin:

 

[sahtt]

love your photos and thanks for sharing it with us.


Is there any Audi museum? :biggrin:

Indeed there is. It's in Ingolstadt, Germany. It's not terribly far from Munich or Stuttgart. If I had more time I would have seen it. I love the old Audi lemans and rally cars.

 

[TURBO2GO]

Awesome. Thanks!

 

[Hapa88]

Awesome pix. Thanks for taking the time to post them!

 

[PHOEN$X]

Totally awesome! So many geat photos! I love museums and am dying to travel to Europe, and you just added a few more "must see" places on my bucket list! Is there more info on your trip (itinerary, places stayed, travel method--did you use a motorcycle for the whole trip) somewhere, either on Prime or a personal blog?

P.S., I would have seriously considered buying this Porsche if it had made it to production. :biggrin:

 

[sahtt]

Totally awesome! So many geat photos! I love museums and am dying to travel to Europe, and you just added a few more "must see" places on my bucket list! Is there more info on your trip (itinerary, places stayed, travel method--did you use a motorcycle for the whole trip) somewhere, either on Prime or a personal blog?

P.S., I would have seriously considered buying this Porsche if it had made it to production. :biggrin:

For this trip I didn't. I invested a fair amount of time into one for my first big motorcycle trip (texas to alaska) and am not sure if it was worth it. I'll eventually put one up on horizonsunlimited or advrider.com; I'll put a link here.

Here's a link to more non-museum pics of the trip if you are interested:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v326/sahtt/Europe Solo by motorbike 2012/

 

[PHOEN$X]

Very cool. What inspired you to take this trip, and why on a motorcycle? What travel tips do you have for a car nut like me that wants to check out Europe on a budget?

 

[liftnot]

Thanks for sharing...totally made my day:smile:

 

[Ultraman]

You looked good on that motorcycle.

 

[sahtt]

Very cool. What inspired you to take this trip, and why on a motorcycle? What travel tips do you have for a car nut like me that wants to check out Europe on a budget?

I would like to travel the world by motorbike. So far I've done most of north america and about half of Europe. I planned on doing all of Europe outside of Russia and Scandinavia on this past trip but had mechanical/logistical issues (i.e. I have a picture of my bike on the back of an Italian tow truck and when I arrived in Spain all my luggage/gear was still in NYC). No big deal.

As for traveling on motorcycle, there is no rational explanation. It's vastly complex when overseas, somewhere between significantly and extremely dangerous, and can be quite expensive. My rental alone was $2k USD with excellent insurance. All I can say is when you travel by motorcycle you are one with the environment and people around you. You are fully integrated. You have to place immense trust in thousands of strangers. You take nothing for granted and appreciate the smallest act of kindness. I prefer to travel the 'hard' way and stick to camping. It's cheap, usually 8-16 Euros. The facilities are tremendous and almost always have full showers, places to wash clothes, etc.

I'd rent a car and stick to campgrounds. Toll ways are expensive; look up each country you plan on going to and learn their toll system. For instance, Germany has none and Italy's are quite expensive. Some countries, like France, are impossible to navigate without going on toll ways. Switzerland requires a $40 sticker but has no toll roads. Trust me, getting stuck at a French toll booth and holding up 100 angry french drivers is not a vacation.

All the countries I visited were great. Switzerland stood out in terms of the scenery, road quality/fun, and professionalism of other riders/drivers. The french alps took my breath away more than once and I am no stranger to riding through mountains. Visiting the German museums is a breeze; the MB and Porsche facilities are literally 5 miles apart.

Rent a cheap little car and camp as much as possible. Budget 35-50 Euros a day for camping+food (that's eating cheap but doable), assume gas is about 8 USD a gallon and do the math, and add in your rental and airfare to figure out a rough cost.

 

[PHOEN$X]

Thanks for the info! Definitely sounds like an adventure.

 

[Ritesh]

WOW..... You flew to Europe and Rented a MOTORCYCYLE! You have big "attachments" my friend. The pics are amazing. I plan to do the same trip someday but with a 911 rental.:wink:

 

[wagyshag]

WOW! Very Impressive, thank you for sharing!

 

[sahtt]

WOW..... You flew to Europe and Rented a MOTORCYCYLE! You have big "attachments" my friend. The pics are amazing. I plan to do the same trip someday but with a 911 rental.:wink:

Given it was my first time to Europe and I went alone a 911 probably would have been much wiser. I don't know exactly why, but my already strong desire to eventually own a 911, particularly a 993, is stronger than ever after my trip. Europeans of all nationalities and ages seem to have immense respect for Porsche and the 911.

 

[04HondaNSX]

Given it was my first time to Europe and I went alone a 911 probably would have been much wiser. I don't know exactly why, but my already strong desire to eventually own a 911, particularly a 993, is stronger than ever after my trip. Europeans of all nationalities and ages seem to have immense respect for Porsche and the 911.

Can't remember but I think in 08 I took a trip to Germany, The Netherlands, and a few other countries. I would get as good as a rest as I could when sleep cause when we ventured off into the small towns around Germany like Passau, Spiegelau, etc the country back roads would be loaded with Porsches racing the mountain side and blazing the Autobahn. If you was in between two Porsches on a mountain pass. Be prepared to be passed once the Porsches spot each other. It's almost like a game to them.

 

[crazyukrainian]

awesome pics! why not russia though? have you or are you planning on visiting any eastern european countries?

 

[sahtt]

awesome pics! why not russia though? have you or are you planning on visiting any eastern european countries?

Russia was a bit out of the way. For this trip, I had to start and finish in southern Spain. I will go to Russia in the future, hopefully Magadan.

I planned on going all the way to Turkey but it did not work out for this trip. My route and all the many details are already sorted out so it will not require much planning when I get around to it.