Top 5 driving roads by Bernard
What is the best driving road in the world? We don’t think we’ll ever unanimously answer that, since everyone seems to have a favorite, but we sure can narrow it down. A great driving road, for us, has to be one offering a nice mix of long, open stretches where you can really exploit the car’s top-end, with some sharp, slow corners to test out its turn in and corner exit. Australia offers lots of those, but unfortunately, unless you’re down for breaking the speed limit and getting a ticket, it won’t do, with our strict speed limits and Multinovas hiding out at each ‘fun zone’. A perfect driving road has to be fun regardless of your weapon of choice. A manual car with a clutch, blipping the throttle on the upshift has to feel just as good as a Supercar with a trick Dual Clutch box, because that’s the point. Driver Involvement. It’s a good driving road, it shouldn’t be down to the car. Without further ado, here are 5 of our favorites in no particular order.
Col De La Bonnette
The Col de la Bonette is one of the most famous roads in the Alps, simply because of how high it stretches. At 2,807meters, it’s the highest road in Europe. It offers amazing sceneries, lots of smooth tarmac and unprecedented driving rhythm. The actual road is relatively fast paced, but there’s plenty of grip from the surface. The view from the top is mesmerising. You can see the road down for 5 kilometres, looking more like a racing track rather than a mountain pass. Seatbelt on, pop the Clutch, and turn into what feels like a turn in to a bend that feels like it will lead to heaven itself.
Black Forest
The Black Forest is considered by many to be the best driving road on Earth thanks to its incredibly smooth surface and fast sweeping turns where you can carry lots of speed in. It stretches south to north and it’s located just west of Stuttgart, birthplace of the Porsche. It’s actually the northern stretch of the elevated Schwarzwald Hochstrasse, route 500. The best trail pans out of Baden Baden in the north, but its popularity can make it crowded. Rise early to enjoy its fullest!
San Bernadino
Ah, the San Bernadino pass. The popularity has made this road somewhat crowded in recent years, but it’s still one of the best regardless. The buttery smooth surface, amazing landscapes and passing fellow enthusiasts make it a driver’s heaven. It’s the best pass in Switzerland, a definite must drive if you’re visiting the Swiss. Clip your seatbelt in, drop the windows and drop the clutch as you glide between apexes.
Transfagarasan
The Transfagarasan is located in Romania, offering 90 kilometers of twists and turns, with steep drops and even steeper climbs. You may recognize it from Top Gear’s Romania adventure, where they drove an Aston, a Ferrari and a Lamborghini up it. The road surface is okay but not ideally smooth for fast driving, so keep your eyes open and reflexes ready at all times. The sort of road where you really need to be receptive to what your car is telling you.
Stelvio Pass
We said we weren’t going to include a favourite, but this would probably be it. Top Gear pronounced it the best drivingroad in the world, and after driving it yourself, you’d probably do so as well. It’s the best blend of scenery, surface, turns and drops out of all the other roads here. There’s just one catch: it’s nearly always crowded. The popularity Top Gear brought it isn’t doing it much good for the lone wolf petrolhead. To truly experience everything it has to give, get a good night’s rest in one of the nearby motels, and get up really, really early.
