Vintage Rolls-Royces re-enact 110-year-old alpine adventure
Victory in 1913’s arduous Alpenfahrt endurance race secured Rolls-Royce as “the best car in the world” and now a group of enthusiasts has rerun the route to prove that the title still holds true.
Some 47 members of the 20-Ghost Club, which is the world’s oldest Rolls-Royce owners’ group and is only open to cars built before 1940, took on a mountainous 1,800-mile journey that included some of the highest roads in Europe.
Following the original route from 110 years ago as closely as possible, the group started and finished in Vienna, driving through Austria, Italy, Croatia and Slovenia. Among the most challenging climbs for the vintage Rollers were the Stelvio Pass, Brenner Pass, Umbrail Pass and Rolle Pass with more ascents through Slovenia.
The classic car convoy took a more leisurely pace than in 1913, covering the distance in 16 days compared to the eight days of the original alpine adventurers in their Silver Ghosts, but you can hardly blame them!
Claustrophobia and vertigo sufferers turn away now. The climb to Col du Chaussy in the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes is a narrow, steep and nerve-wracking ascent.