Detour #318: Porsche Perfection in Stuttgart, Germany
Photo Porsche
The cars in the Porsche Museum are not just for show. They’re very much for go as well, as Nik Berg discovers on a dream drive through the German countryside.
2025 marks a number of significant milestones for Porsche. It’s 60 years since the 911 Targa made its debut, 40 years since the 959 first appeared, 30 years since the 911 Turbo (993) hit the road, and 25 since the Carrera GT wowed crowds at the Paris motorshow.
All four of these cars are parked up outside the museum, keys in the ignition – along with an extra Carrera GT, helmed by Porsche’s legendary development driver Walter Röhrl.
A route has been plotted to the 13th century Schloss Langenburg and I’ll be driving in convoy with a couple of new electric Macan SUVs leading the way, offering quite the contrast between Porsche past and present.
I start out in a charming 1973 911 Targa, with a glorious green interior to match its paintwork. The first few miles out of Stuttgart are on the A81 autobahn where, despite its age, the three-litre flat six engine in the back of the car is still plenty fast enough to keep apace with the traffic.
Turning off onto minor roads and the car feels even more at home. It’s small by today’s standards and that makes it a delight to thread through the rolling farmland.
Gothic churches perch on distant hills, but for the most part the route avoids the postcard-ready villages in favour of keeping the convoy moving.
The only stops are to change cars and next for me is the most daunting of the lot. The Carrera GT has a reputation for being a beast. The phrase ‘race car for the road’ is overused but the Carrera GT’s 5.7-litre V10 engine began life first as a Formula 1 project and was then developed for endurance racing, before both programmes were abandoned. Instead, the V10 found its way into the Carrera GT.
The most intimidating element of driving the car turns out to be just getting it moving. The only method that works is to keep your right for well away from the accelerator and gently bring in the clutch to engage first gear. When the car judders into motion you can get on the gas, but absolutely not before.
It makes junctions, especially hilly ones, an anxious affair, and the Carrera GT’s width seems to shrink roads that seemed plenty spacious in the old Targa. But what an experience it is to hear that V10’s mechanical wail and see the horizon approach at warp speed.
Arriving at Schloss Langenburg with considerable relief, it’s only as I reverse park the car that I do actually stall it. As well as the almost Disney-like castle and its manicured grounds, there’s a motor museum with around 65 cars to peruse, but I still have two more to drive on the way back to Stuttgart.
First is a 911 Turbo from 1995 and its 400 horsepower is nothing compared to the Carrera GT’s 600, but it’s still no slouch. As the last of the air-cooled 911 Turbos this generation is one of the most collectible, and, feels like it offers the best balance of thrills and usability. Despite its wide hips the Turbo is small compared with the Carrera GT and immediately inspires confidence as I pass through acres of sunflowers en route to the final leg of the journey.
I’m into the 959 for this and truly it’s a childhood dream come true. Although devised for rallying the roadgoing version of the 959 battled Ferrari’s F40 for the title of the world’s fastest car and for a position on my bedroom wall.
So, to finally get behind the wheel is an experience I have looked forward to for 40 years. And it doesn’t disappoint. Initially it feels similar to the Turbo, largely because the technology that was developed for the 959 would feature in the later car, but there are some significant differences.
Where the turbo is taut, to the point of jarring over significant bumps, the 959 has the incredible ability to just absorb every road imperfection. And then there’s the way it delivers its power in two distinct helpings when each of the sequential turbochargers kicks in. The anticipation of the sudden boost makes it all the more exciting.
This last section of the route leads me back to the autobahn and, for just a few seconds, I’m able to unleash both blowers and see the speedometer reach 220 km/h. That’s almost 100 km/h less than its headline-making maximum of 317 (197mph) but it’s a massive privilege to just have the chance to floor it even once.
Parking up behind the other three Porsche icons back at the museum, I don’t think the 15 year-old me could ever have imagined a day quite like this.
To rent a Porsche and drive this route for yourself click here.
ROADBOOK
CLASS: Dream DRIVE
NAME: Porsche Perfection
ROUTE: Porsche Museum to Langenburg Casstle to Porsche Museum
COUNTRY: Germany
Distance: 155 Miles
The cars in the Porsche Museum are not just for show. They’re very much for go as well, as Nik Berg discovers on a dream drive through the German countryside.